Feeling unwelcome
Kenya wants to restore a reciprocal free-visa system between itself and SA, as the two countries attempt to avoid a threatened loss of US$1bn in annual bilateral trade and the reduction of rising tourism numbers.
The dispute arose after SA decided to impose strict visa regulations on Kenyans, requiring them to pay at least $60 for a visa and wait for seven days for approval.
South Africans travelling to Kenya do not require a visa.
The decision to impose the new system is a violation of an agreement with Kenya for a reciprocal freevisa system.
SA officials say the new rules are meant to limit illegal Kenyan immigration.
Last year, Kenya responded by imposing strict visa rules on South Africans, but that action was halted to make way for a negotiated solution.
There may now be a chance to resolve the dispute in early August, when SA immigration officials are to visit Kenya to discuss the issue, says Kenya’s cabinet secretary for foreign affairs & international trade, Amina Mohamed.
“We have made it clear to South Africans that the reciprocal visa system must be restored. Otherwise — if the matter is not resolved at our upcoming meeting — we will respond by levying visa fees on South Africans from September this year,” Mohamed told reporters in Nairobi. “Our existing agreement is that the two countries will issue visa without . . . processing or other fees. That must be respected,” she said.
Because of the visa dispute, Kenya and SA have been at loggerheads since last year.
This came just when relations between the two countries were beginning to thaw.
The two jump-started negotiations for a Joint Commission of Co-operation following President Uhuru Kenyatta’s meeting with President Jacob Zuma in Pretoria in May.
Zuma is expected to visit Kenya later this year. It will be followed by Kenyatta’s state visit to SA next year, according to State House Kenya.
Trade between the two countries is worth about $1bn, of which 70% is in favour of SA, figures from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics show.
SA companies are also cementing their presence in the Kenyan market, which is their launch pad into East Africa.
A number of mergers and acquisitions confirm the trend. The most recent is the majority acquisition of one of Kenya’s biggest insurance companies, UAP Insurance, by Old Mutual.
SA has launched a campaign, known as “Allow us to Indulge You”, to woo Kenyan tourists.
Recent statistics show that in 2014, 35 605 Kenyan tourists visited SA. “This was 7% growth over the previous year,” SA Tourism regional director for Africa, Evelyn Mahlaba, said in Nairobi. “Our aim is to achieve a 10% increase every year.
“We have shared our thoughts with our colleagues regarding the visa issue and the matter is being addressed.
“We believe that it will not be a stumbling block to our tourism growth,” Mahlaba said.