Tag: GreatLakesNews

{Zanzibar has imposed restrictions on some children toys in a move to control substandard and harmful toys to kids.}

The Minister for Trade, Industries, and Marketing, Ambassador Ms Amina Salum Ali made the announcement in response to legislators’ grievances of the quality of the imported toys.

“It is true that some toys are dangerous and we have reports of children being injured by the toys,” said Ms Ali, adding that the ‘Zanzibar Bureau of Standards (ZBS)’ will from now ensure harmful toys are not allowed in.

It is estimated that at least 21 children were reported injured in the eyes and body due to the use of toy guns. Children toys are widely sold during Eid festivals.

{Among the insiders, there are whispers of al-Shabaab sleeper cells inside the camp.}

By May, 2017, Kenya’s third-largest “city” by population will have ceased to exist.

The Dadaab Refugee Camp may have rickety stalls as opposed to sleek malls, the “houses” are made of paper and sticks and there are no skyscrapers, but with a population of more than 348,130 refugees, it is among Kenya’s most densely-populated areas. Of course, it is also the largest refugee camp in the world.

But between November and May, the bulk of the residents—Somali refugees who fled from either drought or war or a lethal mixture of both—will finally pack up their belongings, take down their make-shift houses, and start the journey back to Somalia to rebuild the lives they left behind 25 years ago. They will leave behind a ghost town.

There will be a massive exodus the likes of which this country has not witnessed in recent history.

The great migration will turn the Dadaab-Liboi road—which is in all truth an untarmacked, glorified cattle track—into one of the busiest in Kenya.

Imagine the noise and the dust, the roaring of the engines, the murmured conversations among the people that will be so amplified by the sheer size of the crowd that they will sound like rolling thunder. Imagine the tears and heartache of friends wrenched apart as they inevitably head home to settle in different parts of Somalia. But also imagine the bubbling hope, the excitement, the happiness, the undulated pleasure of homecoming.

The heaviest baggage the refugees will carry will not be the blankets and food rations given to them by the UN, but the burden of expectation, both for themselves and their children, about what the future will hold for them when they return home.

Those who support the closure of the camp have advanced many arguments to support their case. The government has said that the camp is a fertile breeding ground for terrorists, the worst of whom are suspected to be responsible for the massacre at Garissa University College, where 147 people, mostly college students, were killed.

“Since its inception in the 1990s, the camp has been clouded in controversy, ranging from smuggling of goods and weapons from the neighbouring Somalia, to harbouring terrorists today,” wrote Interior Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho in a press statement.

The government has a point. It is impossible for visitors to walk inside the camps freely and the UNHCR insists that one must have security escort of no less than four police officers, each wielding a G3 assault rifle, their bullets worn around each officer’s midsection like a belt.

The UN itself and other affiliate agencies with operations inside the camps must travel with police escort as well—one van at the front and another at the rear. As the aid workers discharge their duties inside the camps, the policemen stick closer than ticks, keeping an eye out for undesirable elements.

Should you think that all this protection is unnecessary, remember that last year, a teacher employed by Windle Trust, a charity that handles the education needs of the refugee children, was kidnapped by al-Shabaab in broad daylight and taken across the border.

The incident happened when Ms Judy Mukomwe Mutua was being driven to the Hagadera Camp from Dadaab Town. It was unclear whether or not she had police escort at the time. Ms Mutua was rescued several days later, physically unharmed, but so traumatised that those who attended to her said she could not speak when asked about what had happened to her in captivity.

Kakuma Refugee Camp on the other hand is a much more relaxed affair, where anyone can walk in and out as they please, and stay as late as they want, with no fear that they might end up victims of a bloodthirsty terrorist. This, despite the fact that Kakuma is perilously close to South Sudan, which just a few months ago was in the midst of a bloody civil war.

What is it that makes Dadaab such a serious security risk?

Dadaab is only around 80 kilometres away from Somalia. The UNHCR itself admitted, in a 2010 report co-sponsored by the government, that there exist smuggling routes that have flooded the market in Hagadera with cheap goods from Somalia.

It does not take a great mental leap to imagine that those same routes could be used to smuggle in al-Shabaab and their weapons.

Among the insiders, there are whispers of al-Shabaab sleeper cells inside the camp, who lay dormant until such a time as they are called upon to host active fighters who have been deployed to wreak havoc within Kenya’s borders. This paints a picture of a refugee population that is mostly out of the control of both of the government and the aid agencies under UNHCR.

“You know people keep asking us why we are sending back all the refugees instead of just weeding out the troublesome ones. But it has come to our attention that the registered refugees hide the undocumented ones and they are the ones who cause us problems,” said Mr Mwenda Njoka, a spokesman at the Ministry of Interior.

But taking 400,000 people across the border is an expensive affair that Kenya cannot afford to shoulder on its own. Although reluctant to give a specific figure of how much money the repatriation might cost, Mr Njoka said that the entire operation could gobble upwards of Sh10 billion.

“The government is prepared to give Sh1 billion, as well as security and logistical support to the refugees. We hope that other governments and the aid community will step in to cover the rest,” he said.

The government remains optimistic that the repatriation will be peaceful and has not entertained any questions about whether force will be used to evict those who decide to stay on.

“We are working to ensure that the repatriation is carried out with dignity. We have talked to the Somali Government and it has set aside land in Jubaland to resettle the refugees. We are also encouraging donors and investors to invest in Somalia and build the required infrastructure to encourage the refugees to go back,” said Mr Njoka.

Despite pressure from Western governments, notably the United States, and humanitarian agencies, it seems that this time round, the government is determined to close the camp. It, however, does so with one concession.

“Should war break out in Somalia again necessitating asylum for its people, we will not close our borders. We are neighbours and we will always help each other,” said Mr Njoka.

{Religious institutions will now enjoy habitual tax waiver but under rigorous control measures to check likely cheats.}

Finance and Planning Minister, Dr Philip Mpango, said here on Tuesday evening that the government has rescinded the new system that had required religious institutions to pay tax first and then apply for refund.

“After receiving views from various stakeholders, including Members of Parliament (MPs), we are convinced that the system will deter or delay execution of vital projects by religious organisations,” said Dr Mpango as he clarified some issues that MPs rose while debating the budget speech.

In his 2016/17 budget proposals, the minister had proposed the new system that required religious bodies to pay taxes and then apply for refund subject to an audit to prove that the exemption was appropriately used.

“In recognition of the great contribution of religious institutions in the provision of education and health services, I annul the system that requires upfront payment of tax,” said Dr Mpango, citing deregistration as one of the proposed measures against the relief abusers.

However, religious institutions are required under the new system to submit their requirement for imported goods in every start of the calendar year, with proof that exempted goods in the previous year were used as the law requires.

The institutions have also to submit names, titles, signatures, photographs, addresses and mobile phone numbers of people authorised to handle exemption matters.

But, the waiver applicants will have to secure letters from their Street/Village Executive Officers and District Commissioners, certifying the existence of the institution or project and demand for goods on which exemption is sought.

{Kenya is at high risk of being hit by economic shocks associated with Britain’s plebiscite Thursday.}

Kenya is one of the countries at a high risk of being hit by economic shocks associated with Britain’s plebiscite tomorrow on whether to dump or keep its membership in the European Union, economists said.

The Central Bank of Kenya governor Patrick Njoroge, who is a former IMF economist, said East Africa’s largest economy would “feel the shock wave” alongside other global economies should Britain vote to leave the EU.

Dr Njoroge’s pronouncement was seen as expressing concerns that Kenya’s economic policy makers have over the outcome of Thursday’s vote, whose impact some economists have said could equal that of the 2008 global financial crisis.

Kenya is particularly seen as vulnerable to possible loss of trade, exchange rate pressure and capital outflows should Britons vote to leave the bloc.

Nairobi is seen as being at risk of massive capital outflows arising from the strong wave of anxiety in global markets, which is expected to follow an exit vote.

Increased capital outflows would, for instance, hurt trading at the Nairobi Securities Exchange, whose activity has more recently been anchored on strong foreign participation.

Listed companies that export goods and services to the UK also face the risk of a prolonged slowdown or even decline should Britain exit the EU and its economy suffers a downturn as a result.

Standard Chartered head of research for Africa Razia Khan said the shilling was likely to come under pressure if Britain exits and subsequent investor capital flight to relative safe havens such as US treasuries – ultimately triggering a stronger dollar.

“Any vote in favour of ‘leave’ is widely acknowledged as being a negative for global risk appetite. In this case, should it come about – the polls are extremely close at the moment – it would be a negative for all emerging and frontier markets, Kenya included,” Ms Khan said, adding that Kenya will not be spared the resulting risk selloff under such a scenario.

“Outside of the very considerable financial market risks, Kenya’s real economy would also be impacted by an exit vote. Any eventual need to renegotiate trade agreements outside of the EU would create more uncertainty for Kenyan exports,” she said.

A possible strengthening of the dollar against the Kenyan shilling in the wake of an exit vote is also expected to pile upward pressure on inflation or cost of living for a net importer like Kenya.

That would ultimately force the Central Bank of Kenya to react with a tightening of monetary policy and a rise in interest rates.

Trade is, however, the more immediate of the concerns, analysts said while issues around capital flows would take root over time as markets adjust to a new reality of a reformed Europe. The Netherlands and the UK are two of Kenya’s biggest export destinations.

Trading statistics for the first quarter of this year show that the two EU states together accounted for 18.3 per cent or Sh22.7 billion of Kenya’s total exports worth Sh123.9 billion.

Kenya mainly exports horticulture products to Europe, with the Netherlands and the UK as the main landing points.

READ: UK seeks to revive Kenya exports with Sh74bn kitty

Standard Investment Bank head of research Francis Mwangi said that although Britons were less likely to vote against the EU, an exit would make Kenyan products going through the UK to Europe more expensive thus reducing the competitiveness they currently enjoy under the duty-and-quota-free terms.

“If Britain exits, any Kenyan company exporting to Europe through the UK will have to contend with extra duty charges. Agriculture firms stick out as the ones who would take the brunt of the downturn in demand,” Mr Mwangi said, adding that the EU could move towards protecting its market by demanding wider access to African markets in return for any access offered to African states.

“An exit of Britain is likely to push them further towards a protectionist stance,” he said.

In the capital markets, nervous investors in European and US markets are expected to look for safety in secure government bonds in the event of a Brexit, pushing yields in countries such as Germany, the UK and Japan to all-time lows and in some cases to the negative.

Although Kenya’s stock exchange and fixed income market would feel the effect alongside other frontier markets, Mr Mwangi reckons that the equities market may be spared the worst because primary foreign inflows come in from the US and South Africa — mainly from long- term investing pension funds — and not London.

In the first five months of the year, foreign investors pumped in a net of Sh1.2 billion into the Kenyan stock market alone.