Editor,

RE: "First deal with the visa issue for Africans” (The New Times, July 11).

It would be an enormous improvement on the existing practices where an African seeking to travel to another African country is made to jump through hoops without even any assurance that they will get it. And refusal might even be solely on the whim of the "responsible” (in quotation marks because they act more like petty bureaucrats than responsible officials) consular agent.

I still believe intra-African travel should be eased to the maximum to encourage maximum intra-African trade in both goods and services (the lowest in the world at barely 10 per cent, compared, for instance, to Europe with over 70 per cent).

Visas are a form on non-tariff barriers; they should be eliminated. Or, if you want to maintain comprehensive visitor statistics, keep them but issue them gratis at the point of entry.

We need to encourage intra-African travel to promote exchange among our countries. Do away with everything that might stand in the way of that goal.

Mwene Kalinda