Ghana and South Africa are expected to meet in September to conclude negotiations on a visa waiver agreement to allow citizens travel to each other’s country without visas.
South Africa’s High Commissioner to Ghana, Ms Lulu Xingwana, said South Africa’s Head of Immigration would be in Ghana to conclude the agreement.
“We are left with issues concerning reciprocity because if we have a waiver for Ghanaians, Ghana must also do a waiver for South Africans.
“When we meet next month, our expectation is that the Ghana government will be ready. As for the South African government, we have been ready since June,” she told Journalists during a South African Tourism (SAT) roadshow in Accra.
The roadshow, which was held in Accra and Kumasi, was to facilitate business networking between South African players in the tourism sector and Ghanaian tour operators.
It was also aimed at ensuring that tour operators were educated on both new and existing South African products and experiences.
Ms Xingwana, therefore, said the conclusion of the visa waivers agreement would ensure that South Africa alerted its ports of entry, airlines, and the date to start the implementation of the visa-free policy between the two countries.
The South African envoy said the agreement had the potential to increase foreign direct investment and tourism inflows between the two countries.
With the South African government’s eye on doubling its tourism inflows by 2020, Ms Xingwana said it was the hope of the High Commission that the talks would be concluded as soon as possible to increase tourism inflows from Ghana to South Africa.
“South Africans also love Ghana and we have been receiving delegations every day in our High Commission. They don’t just come here to visit your beautiful country for tourism but to also look at investment opportunities,” she added.
