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Kenya has announced that it will scrap entry visas for all countries on the African continent before the end of this year.
Kenya will become one of a select few countries on the continent, to waive visa requirements for all nations in Africa.
Speaking at a conference held in Congo-Brazzaville, Kenya’s President William Ruto said that his country would shortly be removing visa requirements for all African nations.
“Let me say this: As Kenya, by the end of this year, no African will be required to have a visa to come to Kenya,” Ruto told conference delegates, per BBC.
Kenya will thus offer visa-free entry to all African nationals.
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VISAS: BAD FOR BUSINESS
Kenya’s head of state told the audience that visa restrictions were bad for business.
He was speaking at a summit aimed at protecting some of the world’s largest rainforests.
“When people cannot travel, business people cannot travel, entrepreneurs cannot travel, we all become net losers.” Ruto said.
CONNECTING AFRICA
Visa-free travel within the African continent has been one of the African Union’s (AU) goals for a number of years. However, achieving this mobility has been very slow.
The AU launched the African passport initiative in 2016. The idea behind the passport is for all African citizens to be able to travel throughout the continent without visas. However, this is still not possible.
While some regional agreements and bilateral arrangements do exist, progress towards a visa-free continent has been slow.
Only Seychelles, The Gambia and Benin offer entry to all African citizens without a visa, according to a 2022 AU-backed report.
SOUTH AFRICA
According to Al Jazeera, last year South Africa and Kenya resolved a longstanding dispute over bilateral visa waiver arrangements.
Kenya has allowed South African passport holders to cross its borders without the need for an entry visa for a long period of time. South Africa however, did not reciprocate with the same treatment for Kenyan nationals.
Since 1 January this year, Kenyans have been able to enter South Africa visa-free for up to 90 days per year.
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