I.A.M - Magazine - Page 14
AfDB-financed Sene-Gambia Bridge has revolutionized crossborder transport - cutting travel from days
to under 45 minutes.
Airiel view of the Sene-Gambia bridge
The AFDB-financed Sene-Gambia Bridge,which connects Gambia with Senegal, is a gamechanger. A journey that used to
take hours, even days, to cross by ferry, or boat, is now reduced to 45 minutes by road through the bridge.
As AfDB President Dr. Akinwumi Adesina has wisely
noted, “We cannot say we have borderless trade when
we put up barriers for people to travel.”
Let us imagine an Africa where; a young engineer from
Lagos can take a short flight to Nairobi for a project,
carrying only his or her passport with no visas and no
hassles; a tourist from Mali can spontaneously visit the
pyramids in Egypt or the vineyards of Cape Town on a
single African passport; businesses expand seamlessly
across borders, and students from all corners of the
continent mix freely in our universities; or an Africa
where no African is a foreigner anywhere in Africa.
The AfDB’s TYS prioritizes promoting free movement of
persons protocols within RECs, to help reduce labour
market gaps in high-growth and innovative economic
sectors, to benefit young people who are more versatile
and able to move across countries and sectors.
We are working to seize opportunities for a
prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and integrated Africa.
To borrow the words of Dr Martin Luther King, “We are
now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are
confronted with the fierce urgency of now…This is a
time for vigorous and positive action.”
Integrate Africa can no longer wait.
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