Kenya drops in the ranking of African visa friendly States
19 December 2022
Good morning.
Yesterday, Argentina won their third World Cup in an extraordinary final as they beat France 4-2 on penalties after Lionel Messi scored twice in a 3-3 draw that featured a hat-trick for Kylian Mbappe as the holders recovered from 2-0 down.
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Kenya drops in the ranking of African visa-friendly States
Kenya dropped three places to rank 31 in the 2022 Africa Visa Openness Index (AVOI), which measures how easy it is for Africans to enter one of the 54 countries on the continent covered in the study.
Kenya was ranked 28 in 2021.
Kenya’s best ranking was in 2018 where ut ranked 9th. The ranking is attributed o former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s implementation of a visa-on-arrival policy for all Africans.
This decision was reversed in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemicA visa is a permit to enter, leave, or stay for a specified period of time in a country.
The government’s efforts to curb the spread of Covid-19 by restricting international travel has seen Kenya lose its position as one of the most welcoming countries in Africa.
TRADE
Kenya to Remove All Trade Barriers with Tanzania
Kenya has promised to ease trade transactions with Tanzania by January next year. The decision was made to bolster trade between the two nations and increase the volume of locally made goods exchanged between them.
According to Kenya’s High Commissioner to Tanzania, Mr. Isaac Njenga, both governments have already set plans in motion to remove all outstanding trade tariffs between them before the end of January.
Breaking down fiscal figures Mr. Njenga disclosed that Kenya’s exports to Tanzania increased to Ksh 45.6 billion in 2021 from KES 31.4 billion in 2020.
Kenya to Import 1.5 million Metric Tons of Duty-Free Maize and Rice
The Kenyan Government will allow millers and traders to import 1.5 million metric tons of duty-free maize and rice to bridge the food deficit in the country.
The millers and traders will import a combined 900,000 metric tons of white maize and 600,000 tons of rice from February to August next year.
In a public notice, the Principal Secretary of the State Department for crop development, Kello Harsama, stated that the duty waiver shall apply to white maize and milled rice imported into the country by August 6, 2023.
DEBT
Global rating agency Fitch downgraded Kenya’s credit rating to ‘B’ from ‘B+
Global rating agency Fitch downgraded Kenya’s credit rating to ‘B’ from ‘B+’ pointing to increased risks of default occasioned by tighter liquidity in light of elevated repayments.
The downgrade is due to elevated debt repayment obligations in the upcoming financial year including the maturity of a $2 billion (Sh245.6 billion) Eurobond in June 2024 amidst high financing costs in the international market.
A number of factors in the global economy have combined to tighten liquidity in the international capital market, making it difficult for high-risk emerging and frontier economies like Kenya to access financing such as the Eurobonds.
A weakened shilling saw the Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o approve payment of an additional Ksh 5.4 billion in external debt servicing in the year ended June, underlining the impact of the currency woes on the country’s loan repayment obligations.
COUNTIES
Meru County MCA’S voted for the impeachment of the Governor
Last week, 67 out of 69 Members of the County Assembly of Meru voted yes to the Impeachment Motion tabled by Hon. DMK Kiogora Member for Abogeta West. The vote happened Wednesday evening.
"Honourable members, I wish to declare that the Governor of Meru Hon. Bishop Kawira Mwangaza stands impeached by the Meru County Assembly," Speaker Ayub Bundi Solomon
Speaker Ayub was to communicate with the Speaker of the Senate about the approval of the Impeachment motion as of Friday last week.
Way forward
Within seven days, Speaker Amason Kingi will be required to convene the house for a sitting to hear Mwagaza's impeachment charges.
Kawira Mwagaza is the first Governor to be impeached since the August 9 general elections.
BANKING
KCB Group completed the acquisition of Trust Merchant Bank (TMB)
KCB Group completed the acquisition of DRC lender, Trust Merchant Bank (TMB), for a value estimated at more than Sh15 billion, giving the bank a foothold in the vast mineral-endowed central African country.
The tier-one lender said the deal to acquire an 85% stake in TMB, first made public last August, has been approved by regulators in Kenya, DRC and Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa’s (Comesa’s) Competition Commission.
KCB Group stated that it would operate TMB with its current brand and will enhance the current business operating model with the capabilities KCB has built over time in systems and processes. This will build on the strengths of TMB and enable TMB to deliver significant incremental value by being part of KCB.
Answer to the quiz: The winner will receive the highest prize in the competition, $42 million.