Ruto grants Africa citizens visa-free access to Kenya

As part of a broader effort to promote regional integration and economic development in Africa, President William Ruto has announced that all African citizens will be granted visa-free entry to Kenya by the end of 2023.

He has already taken steps to implement the policy, granting visa-free entry to citizens of several countries on a reciprocal basis.

“Our children from this continent should not be locked in borders in Europe and also be locked in borders in Africa,” Ruto said while addressing a climate change conference in Congo Brazzaville last month.

The countries whose nationals are exempted from obtaining a visa are ranked as Category 1 countries by the Kenyan government. According to Immigration Services department, Africa countries in this category are Botswana, Burundi, Ghana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Djibouti, Eritrea, Congo-Brazzaville, Comoros, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal and Angola.

Abolishment of visa requirements is expected to facilitate the realisation of the African continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).

“It is time we realise the importance of trading among ourselves and allowing goods, services, people and ideas to move freely across the continent,” Ruto emphasised.

By liberalising entry into Kenya, Ruto aims to remove barriers to the movement of people, services and goods in Kenya thus positioning the country as an attractive investment destination.

On Friday Ruto continued his campaign to rally the African continent, which is a constituency of the Global South, to unite so that it can address the various challenges that it is facing and safeguard its interests.

Ruto noted under the current global order, millions of Africans remain poor due to overburdening fiscal measures taken by powerful economies and supply chain disruptions on account of conflicts, high-interest rates driving nations in debt distress.

“The overdue economic renaissance of the Global South is held off by systematic marginalisation and exclusion from multilateral discourse in terms of effective participation and benefits. It can no longer be business as usual when the people of the Global South are unfairly punished by extreme climate for the economic sins of others,” Ruto told the Voice of Global South Summit.

The move to abolish visa requirements for all Africans is expected to boost tourism and trade in Kenya. It is also seen as a symbolic gesture of unity and solidarity among African nations.

In Africa, three countries, Seychelles, Gambia and Benin have so far implemented the visa free entry policy. Seychelles heavily relies on tourism thus lifting of travel restrictions which came into place in 2016 was aimed to boost the trade.

Kenya, which was ranked 31st out of the 54 African countries in the 2022 Africa’s Visa Openness Index report plays a critical role as the anchor point for entry in Africa acting as a transit or destination for goods and people.

The Free Trade Agreement was adopted alongside Migration Policy Framework for Africa (MPFA) in Kigali, Rwanda in 2018 by member states of the African Union (AU) who were of the view that the two treaties would spur economic development since trade and labour migration are intertwined.
“To the extent that without people, goods and services would not be able to cross borders and contribute to formal economic development. Both the free movement of people and trade hold the potential for the continent to spur economic growth and sustain implementation of the Accelerated Industrialization development in Africa (AIDA),” AU said in a statement after the 8th Pan African Forum on Migration early this month.

This pronouncement by the AU in Gaborone, Botswana directly endorsed Ruto’s visa free agenda since the forum looked into how AfCFTA can bolster free movement and trade nexus to harness benefits of liberalized migration and development.

“A single, liberalised continental market for goods and services as well as guaranteeing the free movement of traders across the continent culminating to a dynamic and vibrant Trade Area,” AU said. “The successful implementation of the AfCFTA will lead to the creation of more decent jobs, improved welfare, and better quality of life for all citizenry while skills development, employability and opportunity driven entrepreneurship will help Africa realise its continental trade objectives.”

Data shows that intra Africa migration accounts 80 per cent of the movement of people where the AU now saying that this is compelling evidence to urgently push for facilitation for free movement within Africa to invigorate robust economic development and create vibrant labour markets across the continent.
“The vision of Africa to be an integrated economy gives rise to revitalized thrust to remove restrictions stifling migration and human mobility which are intimately intertwined with trade. Without liberalising movement of persons to a certain degree, it is impossible to achieve meaningful trade and continental integration. Consequently, the relationship between the free movement of goods and services across the continent through the AfCFTA and the free movement of persons is essential in order to harness the benefits of regional integration and trade,” the union said after.

AU said that the fragmented and externally oriented nature of Africa’s economies continues to impose serious costs, evident for example in the low level of trade among African countries when compared with other global regions.

“Regardless of the impressive strides in recent African integration efforts, intra-African trade remains low relative to other regions (15 per cent compared with 60 per cent for the European Union, 41 per cent in North America and 53 per cent in East Asia),” AU explained while calling for renewed political goodwill for free movement of persons among African leaders.