How Zuma indicted the Kenyan passport by refusing to budge on visa rules

Source: Daily Nation, 13/10/2016

Africa`s President Jacob Zuma left Nairobi on Wednesday morning having
concluded a first-ever State visit to Kenya by a South African
president.


But the visit left a bitter taste in every Kenyan`s mouth.
The expectations attached to the trip were simple: the visa rules
imposed on Kenyan travellers had to be changed really fast.


What Kenyans got was, however, a promise to "consider" the request
officially handed in by his host, President Uhuru Kenyatta.


Both leaders had told journalists how committed they were to
"softening up borders" to improve intra-African trade from the paltry
14 per cent to something higher.


But South Africa and Kenya are not equals and their passports are not
either.


To President Kenyatta, there is no good reason South Africa continues
to require Kenyans to apply for visas and wait for five working days
to get them when South Africans can get entry permits on arrival in
Kenya.


To President Zuma, however, Kenya is a conduit for illegal immigrants,
a weakness that must be tamed before this privilege is granted.


The irony is that the South African leader also acknowledged his
country hosts many of these people, mostly from Zimbabwe, who he said
could easily take advantage of easier rules.


"You know that both countries — South Africa and Kenya — have a lot of
foreigners touring these two countries, some of whom could use that
possibility for not good reasons.


"Those are matters that have to be looked at as we move forward," he
told journalists at a joint press conference in Nairobi.


NO TIMELINES
South Africa gave no timelines though this issue has been discussed by
the relevant ministers of the two countries for three years.


Instead, he referred the issue to his juniors to handle, something
that could take several years to deal with.


South Africa argues it has been eliminating these conditions step by
step, such as reducing the visa fee from Sh7,100 to Sh4,900, and
allowing a three-year multiple-entry visa for frequent travellers and
a 10-year multiple entry visa for frequent business travellers.


Pretoria has also allowed a 10-year multiple-entry visa for academics
holding African passports and study visas for the duration of study;
offers permanent residence to graduates studying subjects within the
critical skills category; and removed transit visas for travellers
transiting through South African airports.


All these are, however, not useful as long as one must apply visas
through third parties, wait long to get or be denied a visa and the
fact that you have attached health certificates on your travel
documents.


Pretoria`s immigration attitude is not limited to Kenya.


In spite of diplomatic sentiments about pan-Africanism and commitment
to trade, Pretoria often looks down upon poorer countries, including
those belonging in the same economic bloc with it.


For example, South Africans generally get free entry to Kenya, Uganda,
Comoros, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Mauritania and Burundi, but they demand
visas from nationals of all these countries before they set foot on
South African soil.


The imbalance may be attributed to the naiveté of government
negotiators when drafting these immigration agreements.


But it could also be because of the concessions these poor folks make
in exchange for, say, investments from Pretoria.


QUALITY OF PASSPORT
Zuma`s argument, however, reflected on the quality of Kenyan passports
and even indicted the Immigration Department for not sealing gaps for
immigrants.


"We must find solutions to those issues so that with what Africa has
agreed. The matter is receiving attention. We have to ensure that
there are no loopholes for criminals to take advantage of."


It may be true about those loopholes considering that Kenya has
arrested more than 200 Ethiopians and Eritreans trying to sneak
through the country this year alone.


But according to the Passport Index, an interactive website that
aggregates immigration data from countries based on their passport and
visa policy, South Africa`s passport lags behind those of tiny islands
like the Seychelles and Mauritius, both of which grant Kenyans visas
on arrival despite having the most powerful passports on the
continent. The latter doesn`t even require a visa at all
From the data, it appears poorer countries are generally more
welcoming to foreigners and often allow visas on arrival, visa-free
admissions or have simpler ways of obtaining visas.


The list shows that Burundi, Comoros, Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau,
Madagascar, Mauritania, Togo and Uganda are ranked in Group One of the
most welcoming countries. Kenya is in Group 11, where, incidentally,
it is the only member.


South Africa, when assessed on the welcoming rank, is 58th with a
score of 75. South Africa`s visa-free score is 60 and visa-on-arrival
is 31, making its passport to rank 93rd worldwide.


In comparison, Kenya has a score of 37 score on the visa-free ranking
and 28 for visa-on-arrival. It ranks 121 globally.


Pretoria`s insistence that people from Somalia, Sudan, Ethiopia, South
Sudan and Eritrea (countries that tail in every respect on the
Passport Rank) could be passing through Kenyan borders to travel to
South Africa may be reasonable.


But it is actually an insult to those who provide the Kenyan
passport.


In Summary
• To President Kenyatta, there is no good reason South Africa
continues to require Kenyans to apply for visas and wait for five
working days to get them when South Africans can get the entry permits
on arrival Kenya.
• To President Zuma however, Kenya is a conduit for illegal
immigrants, a weakness that must be tamed before this privilege is
granted.
• The irony is that the South African leader also acknowledged that
his country hosts many of these people, mostly from Zimbabwe, who he
said could easily take advantage of easier rules.