Kenya mulls turning diaspora remittances into exports
By Noel Wandera, May 17, 2021
MONEY: There are suggestions to add diaspora remittances as part of Kenya’s export earnings in future.
Former Finance Minister Amos Kimunya said during an infotrak public debt webinar last week said remittances money was coming from exported services by Kenyans working abroad.
“We need to add diaspora as part of our export earnings,” he said the Majority Leader of the National Assembly of Kenya.
Diaspora inflows overtook tea earnings as the country’s largest source of foreign exchange as inflows continue to provide a stable source of foreign exchange for Kenya, amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.
Upward trajectory
It is also a key source of revenue and support for many households. In 2020, remittances totalled $3.094 million (Sh335.3 billion).
The upward trend continued in March this year, with Kenyans working abroad sending home $290.8 million (Sh31.5 billion) in March.
The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) data indicates, the March 2021 remittances represented a 27.1 per cent year-on-year increase from $228.8 million (Sh24.8 billion) sent during the previous period.
So important are the remittances that the regulator is conducting a Diaspora Remittances Survey, to be concluded this month. Done in collaboration with the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, the Foreign Affairs Ministry of Foreign and other stakeholders will assess the efficiency and cost of alternative remittance channels, and the use of remittances.
The country’s other key Forex sources are Tourism, Horticulture, and Coffee, which all dipped due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Last year, Kenya’s total exports were valued at Sh642 billion, growing by Sh46 billion compared to the Sh595 billion value recorded in 2019.