by E K Bensah Jr
6 February, 2026
In July 2023, I found myself in Livingstone, Zambia, for the first time—fortuitously so—on the invitation of the **Pan-African Lawyers Union (PALU)** to present at its annual conference.
My presentation focused on the linkage between the **AU Free Movement of Persons Protocol (FMP)** and the **Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM)**.
Empanelled after lunch, I contributed to discussions under the theme *“Accelerating African Integration through Free Movement and the Single African Market: Lessons Learnt.”*
My intervention centred on the intersections between **AfCFTA, SAATM, and FMP**, and the growing importance of trade corridors such as the **Lobito** and **Abidjan–Lagos Corridors** in shaping integration outcomes.
That same week, while in Zambia, I watched on Zambian television as the President of Zambia undertook a **state visit to Ghana**.
I remember hoping—perhaps optimistically—that the visit would catalyse conversations around a **visa-free regime** between the two countries.Fast-forward to yesterday’s news: the **activation of a visa waiver between Ghana and Zambia**, following a state visit to Zambia by Ghana’s President Mahama.
This development is a timely boost to ongoing conversations around the **AU’s Freedom of Movement Protocol**, coming just ahead of the **35th anniversary of the Abuja Treaty in June 2026**.
Between **September 2024 and May 2025**, UNECA invited me to participate—both as a **discussant and expert contributor**—in stakeholder conversations on *member-state readiness assessments for the Free Movement of Persons Protocol*.
The countries selected for this exercise were **Ghana, Kenya, and Zambia**.Together with Kenya, the **Ghana–Zambia dynamic** appears to have found particular resonance within these FMP conversations.
The selection of **Ghana, Kenya, and Zambia** was far from accidental.*
**Ghana** brings the experience of a mature REC free-movement regime through **ECOWAS**.
**Kenya**, a leading East African economy, offers visa-free access to Africans despite not yet ratifying the FMP.*
**Zambia** functions as a *bridge state* between Southern and Eastern Africa, with growing convening power among its neighbours.
This bridging role partly explains why the **2025 SAATM meeting in Lusaka** positioned Zambia as a linchpin for advancing ratification of the **SAATM-PIP**.
This triangulation mirrors the **comparative REC logic** that has underpinned some of my later frameworks, including **#5AURECs** and **6DEAFS (Six Degrees of African Separation)**—suggesting convergence of thinking, even where actors operate along different institutional lanes.
As someone inclined to identify patterns (and not merely indulge in alliteration), I want to share an observation.
It is increasingly difficult to discuss the work of the **African Minerals Development Centre (AMDC)**—particularly the **African Gemstones & Jewellery Conference (AGJEC)**—without referencing **Ghana and Zambia in the same breath**.
In **September 2024**, at the invitation of AMDC, I moderated an AGJEC panel in Lagos that highlighted Ghana’s journey since **2019** in sourcing gemstones from Zambia and nurturing a cross-regional business conversation.
Covid-19 disruptions notwithstanding, this engagement has helped shape a narrative of **ECOWAS–SADC collaboration**, exemplified by sustained Ghana–Zambia interaction—predictable in its logic, yet notable in its consistency.
A similar pattern emerges in discussions around the **establishment of the African Credit Rating Agency**, spearheaded by **APRM**.
While the genesis of this conversation dates back to **2021**—and initially included Ghana and Senegal—**Zambia featured prominently** in APRM’s continental research phase.Taken together—across **mobility, aviation, minerals, and financial governance**—these recurring Ghana–Zambia touchpoints are hard to ignore.
So, unless someone knows better, may one be permitted—just briefly—to enjoy a little conspiracy theory?
Or perhaps this is simply what **emergent cross-REC convergence** looks like before it acquires a formal name.
