It is also a realization by Kibaki's government, that they stand little to lose by expelling Britons, particularly in light of Kenya's strenghened relations with the US. It is also an indicator to the west that relationship with African countries should no longer be percieved as inconsequential, with the west getting all the benefits, a good example is difficulty Kenyans (and Ugandans) encouter even to get transit visas for Britain, yet British nationals come in to African countries without any restrictions.
My only hope is that the Kenyans have a plan to systematically (and in an organized fashion) make replacements, in order to avoid a Ugandan type scenerio during Amin. Uganda should brace herself for a flood of jobless Ugandans returning home.
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] CC: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: ugnet_: Thousands of Britons expelled by Kenya Date: Wed, 29 Oct 2003 06:33:10 EST
Good! President Mwai Kibaki's Government should be commended for this move.
There are very many Kenya University Graduates roaming the street of Nairobi
looking for Jobs. Kenya should invest in it's own people. Expatriates should
be used as a last resort. If there are positions which Kenyans can fill why
should the country use expatriates to fill this positions? Moreover, the so
called expatriates often are paid four times what a Kenyan makes! ..on top of
that they are provide with the best benefits which a kenyan can only dream
about.
"Expatriates" , in short tend to drain the Kenyan Economy of the very much need foreign exchange.
Matek
Thousands of Britons expelled by Kenya By Adrian Blomfield in Nairobi (Filed: 29/10/2003)
Thousands of Britons are facing banishment from Kenya following the announcement by President Mwai Kibaki's government yesterday that it would expel two-thirds of the country's expatriate workforce.
British businessmen and economists denounced the decision, which will force out more than 16,000 of Kenya's 25,352 working expatriates, along with their families.
Between 30,000 and 50,000 Britons live in Kenya, more than half of whom are thought to be British Asians, prompting comparisons with Idi Amin's expulsion of Asians from Uganda in 1972.
"This is a racist and economically suicidal move by the government," one British businessman said. "What is the difference between this and what Idi Amin did or what Robert Mugabe is doing?"
Aware of the damaging publicity a mass exodus would cause, the government said the expulsion would be implemented over the next two years.
"It will not be a blanket removal," said Ali Mwakwere, the labour minister. "The process has already begun, but we are honouring existing work permits until they expire."
Mr Mwakwere said he would target skilled and semi-skilled foreigners in the manufacturing industry, many of whom are Asians from Britain and the Indian sub-continent.
Asian-dominated commerce is also in the sights of the minister, whose ruling will be welcomed by poor, nationalist Kenyans. "Quite possibly British Asians and Asians in general are the target," a British High Commission official said. "We are watching the situation closely."
Non-Asian Britons are likely to be forced out too, as Mr Mwakwere said the clearout would sweep through the hospitality and tourism sectors.
"We are looking at anywhere where a foreigner is doing a job a Kenyan could be doing," he said. "We have well-qualified tour guides and so on who are out of a job."
Under Kenyan law, an expatriate whose two-year work permit is not renewed must leave the country with his family within two months.
Missionaries have won an exemption and the government has promised that senior managerial and technical staff at multinational companies will be allowed to stay.
Despite those promises some British businesses say they have already had work permit applications for technical staff rejected.
Several British schools were threatened with closure when permits for expatriate teachers were rejected. An appeal by the British Government and by cabinet ministers whose children are educated in the private system won the schools a reprieve.
British businessmen welcomed Kenya's attempts to root out foreigners who had illegally acquired work permits from corrupt officials in the previous government of Daniel arap Moi.
But they said a number of technical specialists had been refused permission to remain, although they were in roles that could not be filled by local people.
Economists said the expulsion order was completely at odds with the president's appeals to multinational companies to invest in Kenya and revive the flagging economy.
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