Thousands Of Britons Expelled By Kenya

The Telegraph (UK) ^ | 10-29-2003 | Adrian Blomfield

[blam]

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.

President Mwai Kibaki

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.

[neb52]

Hhhhmmmm another African country about to bite the dust eh!

[cyborg]

"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."

*** Before Freepers start posting inane comments, remember there are many Americans saying the same thing about foreigners coming to this country, living here and running businesses,etc. I happen to disagree with the Kenyan president, but how many times do I read about well qualified Americans out of a job while businesses hire foreigners?

[goody2shooz]

Good for Kenya! Kenyans in the process of training, or have been trained and are unemployed and looking for work, are the people who would benefit from this event.

I would like to see the United States do something like this as well. The problem is our tax code. Many companies refuse to train employees anymore; the agument is they fear the worker will leave for a better job.

Duh! You leave before you're laid off.

[cyborg]

Yes you are right, and also to have a program like this, would mean more government involved in businesses... who needs that?

[staytrue]

ping

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Communist dictators are very active.

Rainbow nation fears new bloodbath of whites ***WHEN Nelson Mandela came to power in 1994 he declared South Africa would be a "rainbow nation" free from the hatred brought by years of apartheid.

But now a very different African leader's influence threatens to shatter the dream of a racially-tolerant country with increasing numbers of white farmers being murdered by impoverished blacks inspired by Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's policy of taking away their land by force.

In South Africa, more than 1,500 white farmers have been killed since 1994, compared to 14 murdered by Mugabe's supporters in three years of violence in neighbouring Zimbabwe.

Most have died during robberies, but, according to a devastating report commissioned by South African President Thabo Mbeki's government, they are increasingly being killed by farm workers who want land of their own.

In Pretoria on November 4, a cross-section of that country's top security officers, academics and lawyers will meet to discuss what is seen as a serious threat to national security and the future of organised agriculture in South Africa.

They plan to tell the deeply worried Mbeki that he must take immediate action to meet the aspirations of millions of landless black South Africans.

A decade after the African National Congress (ANC) came to power promising blacks an end to white political and economic rule, some 40,000 whites dominate almost all aspects of food production. Mbeki recently condemned what he called the "two societies" that still exist in post-apartheid South Africa.

But black activists like Supho Makhombothi, of the Mpoumalanga Labour Tenants' Association (MLTA) which represents landless farm labourers in the impoverished Piet Retief and Wakkerstroom districts, are tired of rhetoric.

"We have waited long enough. Nothing has happened despite all the promises made by the African National Congress (ANC) about returning the land to us," he said.

"We are still living in slavery. We have therefore given the government an ultimatum to give us land or we will simply follow the example of our brothers in Zimbabwe and invade."***

Chavez foes slam land grants - 'Agrarian Reform' and "Land Redistribution' in Venezuela***Under the law, the land distributed to the peasants is still owned by the state, and the government must encourage the formation of peasant cooperatives and collective farms, where the state is to provide housing, health care and education. The law also gives the government power to dictate how private land can be used, based on soil conditions and the country's food-security needs.

Critics argue that the law violates the right to private property and is a throwback to state-planned communist economies.

"The model of the collective farm doesn't respond to our reality," said Roque Carmona, founder of Campesino Alliance, a nonprofit organization that helps small-scale farmers. "It looks good on paper, nothing more."

Government officials maintain that the ban on giving up ownership of state property is an attempt to avoid the failures of past land reforms in Venezuela and elsewhere, in which small farmers who lacked credit or government support eventually had to sell their plots to large landowners.

They also argue that forming peasant cooperatives is the only way campesinos can compete with large agribusinesses.

Mr. Chavez has defended the law in terms of social justice and by appealing to the need for "food security," mandated by the constitution passed in 1999 during his first year as president. ***

[propertius]

I would beg to differ. This is going to have a very negative impact on Kenya's economy, which is in the gutter -- consumer spending has shrunk by a massive 25 percent this year.
In many cases there are no Kenyans who can do these jobs, the skilled labour market being very small.
In a robust economy I would say all well and good, but when a country is crying out for foreign direct investment you cannot start imposing regulations on who potential investors can or cannot employ.
If President Kibaki is genuine in his unrealistic election pledge of creating 500,000 jobs a year he needs to throw open the doors to legitimate, professional multinationals, and remove any hinderances that would hamper their operations. That would create far more jobs than this policy decision -- which may force foreign companies to close and will certainly affect tens of thousands of Kenyans who are dependent for their livelihoods on these foreigners.

[neb52]

I would be curious to how good their school system is. It appears most Kenyas are not getting at least a good Grade School education. If changed, that should slowly over a fifty to a hundred years, advance the wealth of the population. There could also be that "I want to be rich now" mentality. Were instead of working hard to elevate your family wealth over time, you instead waste time of moving from one idea to the next. Thinking it is the next boom. Only to waste more money and more precious time.

If Kenyans want to hold these nice jobs. Then they are going to need to expand the quality of their education system and to take the best job possible and save their money. Then after they save enough they can buy their own land or business. Gee that sounds familiar.

[neb52]

I think most of the complaints are targeted more towards illegal aliens and companies that exploit the worker Visas. I don't have a problem at all of immigrants moving here and working or starting their own business. That creates more jobs and wealth for the rest of us. Of course companies would not be compelled to bring cheaper labor force on visas if we were not pricing ourselves out of the market.

[spetznaz]

I would be curious to how good their school system is. It appears most Kenyas are not getting at least a good Grade School education ----Neb52

First of all let me say that i am kenyan, and hence i obviously possess indepth knowledge of the current situation in Kenya. When it comes to the education system Kenya has the one of the most comprehensive (and most intense) educational systems in the world. Actually the last time i checked the statistics (a couple of years ago) it was behind India and S.Korea only. There are several systems utilized, ranging from the indigenous KCSE (which is super hard) to the British GCE and GCSE systems, and even some Swiss based systems like the I.B.

I personally took the KCSE, the IB, and some GCSE aspects.

Let me put it this way ....when i came to the US for my studies i basically was getting bored in class. Why? The things i was being taught in 'unversity' i had learnt and mastered between standard 6 and form 4 (7th to 12th grade). Many of the principles that were dumbfounding my fellow students here were basically mundane facets that i had accomplished in the standard 7, yet here they were going by fancy names like 'Higher Physics' (actually that was hilarious because the higher physics and math i took back home was light years beyond anything i found here ......the closest i got to it was when i checked some engineering stuff for the graduate level).

Needless to say i was getting straight A's, participating in all sorts of studennt/social stuff, and not even studying hard! No need .....easy classes, rudimentary information, and the 'students' i was sitting with here were basically so inept that i honestly felt sorry for many (especially when i compared them with some of their international buddies). And i am not talking just sheer brain power (because American kids are not dumb), but more along the lines of lack of diligence, work ethic and analogous problems. One time i had to organize a rock concert just to get those kids to even bother coming to register Republican for the last prez. elections. I blame it more on apathy than brain cells.

Anyways, going back to kenya, the education system is great. The only problem is there is a lack of jobs. Many people start small setups and the like, but what is needed is big employment dynamos.

I can understand what Prez. Kibaki is trying to do .....create more opportunities for Kenyans since they can do virtually everything the ex-pats do .....the only problem is the WAY he is doing it. It appears, to be honest with you, too similar to what Mugabe wants. Now, iof you look at the details and the reasons the two are not even tantamount .....but to an 'untrained eye' or a 'biased mind' a rush to judgement can occur and Kibaki can find himself painted with the same pariah brush as Mugabe.

However i udnerstand why Kibaki is doing this. Basically for the same reasons many on FR scream, shout and rant when US jobs go overseas when there are qualified Americans who can do them.

The only difference is that in Kenya the Kenyans can do those jobs far cheaper than the ex-pats can, while in the US the Indians/Chinese/etc can do the jobs cheaper than Americans.

Look at the whole picture sir.

Thanks.

By the way Kenya is one of the most developed countries in Africa. Nairobi is a bustling metropolis, and it is one of the success stories of Africa. The major problem there is the dichotomy between the rich and the poor ....i.e a weak middle class (which is the case in very many nations). Kenya is also on the way of achieving 'industrialized status' by 2020, which is very good for any, so called, developing nation. The probelm is that most outsiders only see the national parks, or see documentaries of poor people, and nothing else.

It is basically like me watching a flick of urban ghetto life in the US, and assuming everyone in the States smokes a blunt, drinks 40ounce bottles of cheap booze in brown bags, speaks amazingly incoherent english, and drives around at night shooting at innocents. Obviosuly that is not the case.

As i said before .....look at the whole picture.

[cyborg]

THANK YOU!!!!!!!! EXCELLENT POST

Let me put it this way ....when i came to the US for my studies i basically was getting bored in class. Why? The things i was being taught in 'unversity' i had learnt and mastered between standard 6 and form 4 (7th to 12th grade).

***My mother taught me the English way and when I went to school I was really bored also. They sent me to school psychiatrist because 'something was wrong'. I learned from the same Student's Companion and Red Primer that my mom learned from.

[neb52]

Thank You for the information. I apologize if I came across arrogant. Sometimes it is hard to see outside the borders. I am fully aware of the capabilities of Kenyans. The Hospital system I work for has an exchange program for Kenyans studying to be nurses and doctors. But I don't get to converse with them often enough.

I know Kenya to be a bright spot in Africa, but you do have to look at from our perspective. To many African and South American countries are sliding back into anarchy. Irregardless of what we or other Western countries contribute to foster Representative Government. It just disappoints us to see leaders in nations of great potential make moves like this. It makes us nervous and reconsider the aid that we give. I also apologize for doubting Kenya's education system. When our own public system is quit broken. Being a product of that system, I can look back and see the lack of commitment to basic academics. Studies are watered down to make it easier for those that fall behind for whatever reason. This why I will have my kids go to a good private school or be taught at home. If the basics are hammered away earlier on. Finish by say the 6th or 7th grade. Then the child would be more free to seek studies advance topics.

[goody2shooz]

I agree with you. And this is not the first I've stated that Kenya should be hiring Kenyans before hiring foreign nationals. As a U.S. citizen I feel the same was about employment here.

[spetznaz]

Ah .....The Student's Companion ......brings back fond memories.

Seriously speaking, any parent with a young child needs to find that book and give it to his/her child. Makes a great difference.

[spetznaz]

No problem Neb, no offense taken (and anyways a lot of what you said made sense). I think that Kibaki has a point, but he needs to be very careful about how he goes about it. As i always tell my chums here ......HOW you say/do something is as important, if not more important, than WHAT you say/do. He is trying to help Kenyans, which is good for Kenya, but he needs to excercise prudence in how he does that.

Anyways freep on and be blessed.

A.

[cyborg]

YES Last time I checked Amazon UK... there are whole sets of Student's Companion. I want the original orange book I had but now there are so MANY! (that;s a good thing I suppose)

[propertius]

Spetnaz,

Thankyou for your post. I am also a Kenyan, although of the less fashionable hue. I'm afraid that I would have to differ with you on many points you raise.

The Kenyan education system may be one of the most comprehensive and intense in the world, but it has many flaws. Kenyans have long complained about how unwieldy the 8-4-4 system is and experts generally talk of Kenyan education being in crisis.

One class can be crammed with as many as 100 pupils. Schools are extremely under-resourced. President Kibaki quickly fulfilled a pre-election pledge and restored free primary education. Of course, new class rooms hadn't been built, nor new teachers recruited. In many schools children don't even have writing material let alone text books and scientific equipment.

Millions still do not even go to primary school and illiteracy rates remain unacceptably high.

Headm teachers at primary and secondary level continue to throw out children whose parents don't pay bribes to keep them in school.
University stidents say they get failed if they don't grease the palms of examiners.

It is all part of the culture of corruption that is endemic in Kenya and which plays a major role in holding the country back. The rich-poor gap in Kenya is second only to Brazil.

It has one of the poorest performing economies in the region and recorded several years of negative growth under Moi while neigbors Tanzania and Uganda, impoverished by civil wars, communism and dictatorship, have caught up under newer regimes which were prepared to institute meaningful reforms.

So Kenya, once the giant of the east Africa region, will have a smaller economy than Tanzania, once one of the world's 10 poorest countries, by 2005.

Industrialization by 2020? Please, even the most optimistic people here don't believe that.

Finally I would agree if this immigration crackdown was being targeted at foreigners taking jobs rather than creating them. But most cheap foreign labour do not have work permits. Those that do tend to be specialists involved in wealth generation -- the only way that Kenya can achieve a genuine middle class that is not built on the plunder of Kenya's resources.

Most foreign companies employ as few expats as possible, simply because it is much cheaper to fill as many positions as possible with qualified Kenyans -- who are then trained up.

Look at Toyota Kenya as an example. It employs only two expats, the MD and his deputy, but hundreds of Kenyans. The expats have had their permits turned down and Toyota could close down -- costing 100s of jobs. An average of 7 people depend on any one Kenyan in a job. So you are looking at thousands who will be affected. And of course there are no social security benefits here. And that is only one company.

President Kibaki's new immigration policy is odious and does a great disservice to black Kenyans far more than wealth white foreigners who can always find an equally lucrative job in other African countries crying out for their expertise. Kenyans, sadly, will have nowhere else to go when they trapped in the brave new world their leaders are making for them

[blam]

"Hhhhmmmm another African country about to bite the dust eh!"

Yup. I wonder how long it will be before we hear that Africa's problems are because it has been ignored by the western nations?

[goody2shooz]

Thank you for the informative, and I must add, very civil response. This is such a rarity on Free Republic.

It is very difficult for someone like myself, thousands of miles distant, to assess a situation in east Africa. You did a fine job in filling out an imcomplete picture of the situation in Kenya.

But it has been my sorry experience here in the U.S. to discover jobs I'm qualified for going to foreigners brought in simply because an employer erroneously believes they'll work more industriously for less salary. My feelings are that employers should look among the locals first before hunting beyond the national borders. It seems the grass (employees) is always greener (better) on the other side of the fence (border).