TOWARDS THE FREE MOVEMENT OF PEOPLE IN SOUTHERN AFRICA?

This research paper by Hussein Solomon of the Institute for Security Studies analyses the transition from the 1995 Draft Protocol on the Free Movement of Persons to the 1997 Draft Protocol on the Facilitation of Movement of Persons within the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The author argues that the 1995 protocol was overly idealistic and failed to account for extreme economic disparities and security risks, whereas the 1997 protocol adopts a more realistic, incremental approach focused on bilateral agreements and the gradual elimination of obstacles.

• The 1995 Draft Protocol on the Free Movement of Persons aimed for the total elimination of controls on SADC citizens within ten years. It proposed a four-phase implementation: visa-free entry for short visits (up to six months), extended residence rights, the right to establish and work, and finally the abolition of all internal national borders.
• The 1995 Protocol was criticized for ignoring massive economic imbalances in the region, specifically the dominance of South Africa. The author notes that South Africa contributes 84% of the regional GNP and that the average South African earns 36 times more than the average Mozambican, which creates a risk where labour and capital gravitate toward the regional hegemon.
• Economic disparities lead to two primary migration problems: 'brain-drain' from the periphery to the core (such as Zimbabwean doctors moving to South Africa and Botswana) and the influx of unskilled illegal immigrants into South Africa, which the author claims overburdens state resources and creates xenophobia.
• The 1995 Protocol's plan to remove internal borders while strengthening external ones was deemed impractical due to corruption and inefficiency among neighbouring border police and customs officials, as well as the lack of a centralised computerised data pool to track third-country nationals.
• The 1997 Draft Protocol on the Facilitation of Movement of Persons replaced the 1995 version with a more modest, incremental approach. It focuses on facilitating movement by gradually eliminating obstacles, expanding bilateral agreements, and cooperating to prevent illegal movement and improve external border control.
• The 1997 Protocol introduces more stringent and realistic conditions for short visits compared to the 1995 version, reducing the definition of a 'short visit' from six months to thirty days and allowing member states to determine visa-free arrangements based on the number of citizens who overstay or fail to comply with permits.
• The author concludes that free movement of people in Southern Africa is currently unfeasible and requires prior economic integration and political stability. Necessary preconditions include resolving the conflict in Angola, establishing constitutional democracy in Swaziland, and improving human rights records in Zimbabwe and Zambia.

APA

Solomon, H. (1997). TOWARDS THE FREE MOVEMENT OF PEOPLE IN SOUTHERN AFRICA? Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/paper_18.pdf

Chicago

Solomon, Hussein. TOWARDS THE FREE MOVEMENT OF PEOPLE IN SOUTHERN AFRICA? Institute for Security Studies, 1997. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/paper_18.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Solomon |first1=Hussein |title=TOWARDS THE FREE MOVEMENT OF PEOPLE IN SOUTHERN AFRICA? |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=March 1997 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/paper_18.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{solomon1997towards, author = {Solomon, Hussein}, title = {{TOWARDS THE FREE MOVEMENT OF PEOPLE IN SOUTHERN AFRICA?}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {1997}, month = mar, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/paper_18.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }