Every day tens of thousands of Kenyans based all over the world wake up in the morning not sure that all will be well by the end of the day. You see they are illegal immigrants. Brave Kenyans who have had little option but to seek a better way of life elsewhere away from their home country, which is yet to sort itself out and get organized.
These illegal immigrants are part of the army of Kenyans living abroad that have made the Kibaki administration look like economy-turnaround-miracle workers, remitting over 53 billion back home annually (that makes this the highest foreign exchange earner for the Kenyan exchequer). This is in fact the main reason why the Kenyan shilling continues to strengthen against major foreign currencies despite the many other economic woes and escalating poverty in the country.
While it is true that these immigrants have broken the law by being in those countries illegally, there is no shortage of genuine mitigating circumstances. It is no exaggeration that many of them would be dead by now, did they not get the opportunities that they got in those foreign lands.
And while the Kenyan government cannot support it's citizens to break the law in a foreign country, quite diplomacy behind the scenes could be of great help to these Kenyans who are believed to number in the hundreds of thousands. Most are in the United States but many are also in Britain and several European countries and even African nations like neighboring country, Tanzania where they are frequently arrested and jailed for being in the neighboring country illegally. It is of no consequence that the three East African countries are part of a new East African Customs union. Never believe the propaganda you read in the newspapers about East African co-operation, it is just a waste of tax payers money (but that is a story for another day).
Our politicians have no qualms rushing to these illegal immigrants to raise campaign funds for their presidential bids, however the minute that they are safely inside the State House compound their "official view" will be that these Kenyans have broken the law and can therefore receive no help or support from the Kenyan government.
The latest is that the British home office has this week embarked on a crackdown on illegal immigrants in a move that is bound to affect many Kenyans living in that country. Home secretary John Reid is set to launch a drive to deny illegal immigrants essential services and the benefits of living in the United Kingdom. The idea is to ensure that it becomes increasingly difficult for illegals to live in Britain.
It is said that the campaign will include fines of up to £20,000 for landlords who rent properties to illegal immigrants and £5,000 for companies that knowingly employ them. This latest campaign is set to bolster other efforts to keep illegal immigrants out of Britain like increasing the powers of immigration officers in policing the borders as well as a new requirement for compulsory ID cards for foreign nationals seeking to settle in the UK.
The really painful thing about all this, for many Kenyans is the fact that there are many illegal British immigrants currently in Kenya who are treated like royalty here even as they despise locals and behave like the slave trade never ended. Many of them live in plush neighborhoods like Karen and Muthaiga in Nairobi and in Nyali in Mombasa. The same can be said of many other nationals notably Sudanese nationals who operate just like Kenyans and yet recently Kenyan traders were viciously caned (like schoolboys) and deported from Juba when they were seen to be a threat to local traders because of their business acumen and aggressiveness. Then there are Tanzanians who live and operate in Kenya and even frustrated locals with cash earned from mostly illegal activities like drug trafficking and smuggling. And yet many Kenyans continue to languish in Tanzanian jails for being in that country illegally.
The time has come for Kenyans to seek a government that is sensitive to the needs and pains of its' citizens.
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I woke up to the highlighted news regarding the woes of immigrants...oopppss illegal immigrants in the UK and as much as the country is trying to protect its borders, they are forgetting those who have stayed and built their lives in the country.
ReplyDeleteThe ones who have and still continue to work hard and not depend on benefits, etc. If returned, where do they even begin to get back to the life they had before.
They estimate that 1 billion will be generated from taxes alone if they are granted to stay and this is not even an estimation of continued tax contributions. An estimation of 4 billion of taxpayers money would go to deporting them.
So....the 3 billion excess in expenditure?????
People will continue to look for loopholes until they better themselves. If not, criminal activities will be on the increase.....something I am sure they do not want on their doorstep.
"...These illegal immigrants are part of the army of Kenyans living abroad that have made the Kibaki administration look like economy-turnaround-miracle workers, remitting over 53 billion back home annually (that makes this the highest foreign exchange earner for the Kenyan exchequer)..."
ReplyDeleteChris dude, I do not want to accuse you right away of unleashing loose comments and passing them for facts...
My question is, do you have details on what sectors of the economy the remittances go to? And can one therefore assess the impact the remittances have on those sectors in a more scientific manner?
That will be important in assessing the actual impact of the remmittances to the overall economy. Kenya was a Shs 1, 415 billion economy in 2005, as measured by GDP at market prices. (Refer to the link http://www.centralbank.go.ke/downloads/publications/mer/jan07.pdf)
I am not downplaying the importance of the remittances, especially in supporting households in Kenya, but look at the percentages (remittances will be about 4% of the GDP) and consider whether these remittance do largely make it to the formal economy which is used in determining the GDP (the informal/black market/grey economy isn't) before you steal the thunder from those hardworking Kenyans IN KENYA (including an administration that barely gets credit for the positives it oversees/facilitates) who are making things happen!
Firstly I would like to thank you so much for dropping by and even taking your valuable time to leave the sort of comment that adds great value to this debate. Thanx.
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate us having this debate the way we are without any of us losing their heads. Have you noticed how rare such debates are online these days when it comes to Kenyan politics and the merits or otherwise of the Kibaki administration?
So let us agree to disagree. You are correct in everything you say, except for one thing.
These remittances arrive in the country as hard currency. This is a lot of hard currency and has an impact on the strength of the shilling against hard currencies. It is for this reason that despite the greed of the oil companies in Kenya, Kenyans hardly felt the spikes in oil prices in mid 2006 (or thereabouts), when they caused so much chaos in some neighboring countries like Tanzania.
In this way, kenyans remitting cash back home have made a major contribution to the health of our economy, probably without knowing it.
What do you say?
-Kumekucha-
Chris, you and I are fully in agreement that remittances by Kenyans abroad do have an impact, and a positive one at that, on the economy. As you said, they support the KShs when it comes to exchange rates. In addition, it is these remittances that have made real estate operators a happy lot in Kenya. Plus, every shilling/dollar/pound/euro received is somehow channeled in to and spent on the Kenyan economy... If you are conversant with the concept of 'multiplier effect' in economics, then you'd appreciate the Shs 50bn or so in remittances then has a larger effect than the absolute amount of Shs 50bn.
ReplyDeleteBesides that (and as I said in my earlier post) alot of households in Kenya rely on the remittances for the basics - food, housing, education etc. That in itself is a big deal, otherwise a few thousands more households would join the class of citizens who live in abject poverty (an abused term, but that is a topic for another day).
That said, my point was that you were too quick off the blocks to insinuate (may be unintended) that Kenya's economy's apparent turnaround is largely due to the remittances... It may well be (but I have my doubts), and in my view, a detailed analysis of the full impact of those funds, on whatever areas of teh economy they go to, will be the 'msema kweli'
Anyway, on other matters, I concur with you that quality and level-headed discussions on matters concerning Kenya (and not just in blogspace) are extremely rare. It is usually a lot of insults, 'shouting games' that come tops in such fora... You wonder what the objective is. Are we trying to put down fellow citizens? Or are we trying to get out points across, and hopeful win over/convert belivers? If its the latter, we as Kenyans need to do something about our communication/negotiation skills!
May I ask that you keep your blogspot alive? My view is that if you manage the very difficult challenge of reporting the stuff that somehow doesnt make it to the 'traditional/mainstream' media' and report things as they are, with minimal prejudice, you will have a winner!
Unto the British I say, we are here because you were also illegal immigrants in our country 40+ years ago. What goes around comes around...
ReplyDelete