Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Wamkele Mene, has described the ban of some African countries after it recorded the Omicron variant of COVID-19 as a disgraceful apartheid.
He further indicated that the developed world are practising modern-day neo-colonialism. According to Wamkele Mene, these foreign countries took the decision because the affected countries are Africans.
The United States of America, United Kingdom and EU have barred travellers from SOUTH Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Egypt, Mozambique, Malawi and Nigeria from entering their countries following the discovery of the Omicron variant of COVID-19.
Reacting to this directive at the third edition of the Kusi Ideas Festival in Accra, Wamkele Mene said, "it is an absolute disgrace that in Holland, two of three weeks before the detection by South Africa and Botswana that evidence suggests that Dutch scientists were aware that there is a variant and yet did not disclose this information to the international community".
"It is equally shameful and disgrace that many in Europe were very quick to ban and restrict, travel from African countries when, in fact, it is now known that many more countries around the world have more cases of the Omicron variant than Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Botswana than many other countries that have been banned who had zero cases of the Omicron variant... this is modern-day neo-colonialism, this is disgraceful apartheid... today these restrictions are imposed because we are Africans," he stated.