African experts call for sound policies to address challenges, secure benefits of migration

African experts have underlined the need to have proper management to design policies that address challenges and secure benefits of migration on the continent and internationally.

The experts made the remarks on Saturday during a high-level panel organized by the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa.

The Panel underlined that Africa must, among others, create better conditions for leveraging migration by perceiving it as an opportunity to be grasped and not as a problem.

Chairing the Panel, Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, Executive Director of the New Partnership for Africa's Development, said that migration is not a new phenomenon, but a burning issue in Africa.

Mayaki underlined the need for African countries to have proper management of migration to ensure its contribution to the development of the continent.

"The responsibility of every government is to ensure proper management of migration so that it can contribute broadly to the continent's development," noted Mayaki.

Moustapha Kaloko, AU Commissioner for Social Affairs, noted that migration offers more opportunities than challenges.

"Remittances to Africa quadrupled between 1990 and 2010, reaching nearly 40 billion U.S. dollars in 2010, which is on average equivalent to 2.6 per cent of Africa's Gross Domestic Product. Since 2006, such remittances have been the greatest source of foreign capital inflows to Africa, after foreign direct investments," the AU Commissioner said.

Kaloko appealed for the incorporation of migration planning into national and regional development policies, strategies and programmes to make Africa an attractive continent for talents.

Takyiwaa Manuh, Director of the Policies and Social Development Division of the ECA, said migration has huge implications for poverty reduction via the billions of dollars remitted that contribute to savings, investment, the wellbeing of persons, improved resilience, creation of jobs and services.

Professor Mariama Awumbila of the Centre for Migration Studies of the University of Ghana said migration has gained in momentum and occurs in various ways and for differing reasons. However, the professor deplored the absence of reliable data and documents on international migration in most of the countries involved.

It is a fundamental problem to be addressed through strengthening statistical offices that provide information on migration, according to Mariama.

About 31 million of Africa's population has migrated internationally, according to ECA.

"More than half of those migrating internationally do so within Africa, with only about 28 percent of migrants from Africa going to Europe. Of total migrant stock in Europe, less than 12 percent are from Africa," said the Director of the Policies and Social Development Division of the ECA.

The director urged countries to embrace regional integration and border management to facilitate migration and visa-free travel for Africans in Africa. Endit