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Kenya to scrap visa fees for Africa traders
President William Ruto has announced plans to remove visa requirements for African nationals travelling to Kenya for business as a first major step to remove barriers to intra-Africa trade.
Dr Ruto on May 29, 2023, apologised to public and private sector leaders attending a forum on African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in Nairobi for the visa requirements.
“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,” he told the forum, narrating the human evolution story in Turkana, Kenya.
“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.”
The announcement on Monday was a continuation of Kenya’s policy for the integration of Africa, which began gathering steam during the reign of immediate former President Uhuru Kenyatta.