PRESIDENT William Ruto has unveiled plans to eliminate visa requirements for African nationals travelling to Kenya for business, marking a significant step toward dismantling barriers to intra-Africa trade. Speaking at a forum on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in Nairobi earlier this week, President Ruto expressed his apology for the visa requirements and pledged to remove any obstacles hindering the movement of people within the continent.
‘My minister [for Trade Moses Kuria] has informed me that somehow some of our officials made you pay visas to come home and asked me to apologise, which I do. When one comes home, they don’t pay to come home,’ President Ruto stated, highlighting Kenya’s commitment to supporting the AfCFTA. ‘I want to promise you that this might be the last time you are looking for a visa to come to Kenya because of two reasons. Number one, because this is home, and number two, we support wholeheartedly the AfCFTA. We must remove any impediments to the movement of people around our continent.’
This announcement aligns with Kenya’s ongoing efforts to integrate Africa and promote regional trade. In November 2017, President Ruto’s predecessor, Uhuru Kenyatta, introduced a policy allowing African visitors to receive visas upon arrival. The move mirrored Rwanda’s similar directive, which aimed to foster pan-Africanism and enhance the freedom of movement within the continent.
President Kenyatta emphasised the importance of unrestricted movement among Africans, stating, ‘For my fellow Africans, the free movement of people on our continent has always been a cornerstone of pan-African brotherhood and fraternity. The freer we are to travel and live with one another, the more integrated and appreciative of our diversity we will become.’
Kenya has been a staunch advocate for eliminating trade barriers among African nations to facilitate the seamless flow of goods, services, and labour. The country participated in the pilot phase of the AfCFTA Initiative on Guided Trade in 2021, along with Ghana, Cameroon, Egypt, Mauritius, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Tunisia. However, Africa’s underdeveloped transport networks have impeded intra-African trade, resulting in higher costs and decreased competitiveness compared to trade with developed continents like Europe.
President Ruto emphasised the significance of addressing barriers such as transport and logistics challenges, customs delays, rules of origin, import and export restrictions, and technical barriers. He cautioned that these seemingly small obstacles collectively undermine progress toward establishing a free trade area and must be taken seriously.
In 2022, Africa accounted for 18.49 percent (about KSh622.56bn) of Kenya’s total trade value of KSh3.37 trillion (about $24.7 bn). Although this percentage remained relatively stable compared to the previous year, the visa exemption and efforts to enhance intra-Africa trade are expected to further boost economic integration within the continent.