Kenya's trade minister gives his take on migration issues on the African continent. He is speaking to a South African paper in the context of a wave of anti-immigration protests that spill over into xenophobic violence in South Africa.
Kenya and South Africa recently signed several agreements to introduce visa free travel and deepen integration between them. Kenya is also the leading nation in the East African Community, a regional integration project that has already issued a common passport to its citizens.
Historically, Kenya has faced similar problems with collapse of its northern neighbour (Somali) as South Africa has (Zimbabwe). Kenya then opted for a much less liberal response. They got the UN to create refugee camps in the north and in recent years closed the border with Somalia. The refugee camps have existed for so long that there are multiple generations of people who were born and raised in the camps, on Kenyan soil, but are not Kenyan citizens.
The new government has sought to transition to integrating these people, and is also seeking to open the border with Somalia again, so it seems like they have a consistent pro-integration position. I don't know much about Kenya though, so I stand to be corrected here. Any Kenyans or Kenya observers should please correct my errors.
Relevance: Regional integration, migration and free movement
Posted by Top_Lime1820
1 Comment
Waow