Dubai rejects Kenya’s bid to end visa row

By KEVIN MWANZA Business Daily

Kenya’s bid to settle a month-long diplomatic row with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) over new visa rules appears to have flopped, signalling that thousands of traders will remain locked out of their most popular source market for imported consumer goods.

A statement posted on UAE’s government website said that the visa issue was not part of the agenda of the talks with a team of Kenyan diplomats that visited Dubai early this week, suggesting that no agreement had been reached on the matter.

“The visit by Kenya’s Foreign minister was to discuss bilateral relations between the two countries. It has absolutely nothing to do with the false media reports on (deportation of UAE officials),” said the statement signed by Sultan Al Qurtasi Al Nuaimi, a director of Consular Affairs at UAE’s Foreign ministry.

When they left for the UAE, the team of diplomats, led by Foreign Affairs minister Moses Wetangula, had placed the new visa conditions that bars non-graduate Kenyans from visiting the emirate top on their agenda.

UAE government’s position gained credence on Wednesday after the Kenyan delegation failed to send a statement they had promised on the outcome of the talks.

Instead, Mr Wentangula flew out of the emirate for China where he joined President Kibaki who is on an official visit to Shanghai.

The Foreign Affairs ministry’s silence means that Dubai continues to uphold its new visa rules, putting at risk the livelihoods of Kenyan importers of goods such as electronics, textiles, household goods and industrial products from the free port city that was valued at Sh113 billion last year.

It could also hurt the flow of more than Sh300 million in monthly remittances or 10 per cent of the country’s total monthly remittance from Kenyans working in UAE and whose jobs are now on the line.

Sultan Al Qurtasi said that the degree requirement was introduced to regulate the flow of Kenyans to the Emirate, refuting claims that it was in retaliation for a recent deportation of the UAE citizens.

The degree directive is only applicable to Kenyan citizens, according to the website.

Kenya’s Foreign Affairs ministry officials on Thursday said they had no fresh information on the minister’s trip to UAE, adding that Mr Wetangula and his permanent secretary had moved from Dubai to China.

The volume of trade between the two countries has tilted in favour of UAE as Kenya’s imports stood at Sh113 billion in 2008 compared to exports of Sh7.5 billion.

“Dubai is the one of the largest destination for Kenya’s human resource export and also a major source of cheap products for both local consumption and re-export to other countries in this region,” said Dr Mukhisa Kituyi, former Trade minister.

About 36, 000 Kenyans are currently working in the UAE, notably in the construction and hospitality industries, according to the immigration ministry.

Exporters of commodities have begun to feel the pinch of the spat.

“Some of my business associates who deal in spare parts and sell refurbished vehicles from Dubai have been hit badly by the directive as they can’t get more stock for their business and have to source from Singapore or Japan,” said Mr David Kinyanjui, a car dealer in Nairobi who frequently travels to Dubai for business.

But Mr Kinyanjui is not alone. The same story is repeated by electronics, textiles, household goods importers interviewed.

“I’ve been forced to use other people who have degrees to sources for my goods from Dubai because I don’t have a degree my self,” said Mr Ben Kimeu, a computer accessories dealer at the Jamia Mall in Nairobi. “This has cost me a lot in terms of not getting the right quality of equipment and delays of up to a month. I used to restock every week, but now I have to do it once every month,” said Mr Kimeu, adding that he has lost between Sh800, 000 and Sh1.5 million in the three weeks the new visa requirement has been in effect.

Already, Kenyans working for UAE companies such as Emirates Airlines have been asked to comply with the directive, in a move that has placed some jobs on the line.

Some analysts have been arguing that severed relations with the UAE is not going to affect the country as much on the basis that the volume of trade between the two countries is unfairly tilted in favour of UAE, while Kenya can still get sources for its imports from the other countries in the Asian region.

The total volume of trade last year between the two countries stood at Sh100 billion mostly re-exports to countries such as Uganda, Rwanda and Congo a huge chunk of which entailed electronics and clothing.

Imports from UAE to Kenya include refurbished motor vehicles, petroleum products, beauty products, Jewellery, IT accessories, iron and steel, resins and plastics.

Kenya seeks end to visa row after Dubai rulers expelled

Kenya's foreign minister is in Dubai to defuse a row after members of the Gulf state's ruling family were deported as terror suspects.

The four were on holiday from Dubai in Kenya's resort of Mombasa over Easter, when immigration officers interrogated them for hours before expelling them.

The United Arab Emirates responded by tightening visa requirements - and only accepts Kenyan university graduates. The ban has hit many traders, who usually buy their goods from Dubai.

The BBC's Ruth Nesoba in Nairobi says second-hand cars and fabrics from Dubai are particularly popular with Kenyan businessmen.

Kenyan Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula and his delegation of officials arrived in the UAE on Monday but the talks were deadlocked and so they have been extended.

Last week, deputy foreign minister Richard Onyonka apologised on the BBC's Swahili service for the "stupid mistake" of the officials.

Kenya's Standard newspaper reports that some 37,000 Kenyans live in the UAE, mostly Dubai.

Labour law violations is criminal offence -The Ministry of Labour U.A.E

The Ministry of Labour yesterday said that any violation of the text of the labour law is a criminal offence that merits punishment starting from suspension of a company's licence and fine to referral to the Public Prosecution.

The ministry acted in response to a complaint by an Asian worker during the Open Day, presided over by Acting Director-General Humaid bin Deemas.

The worker said she was asked to choose either termination of services or reduction of her salary to Dh1,500 from Dh2,500 as promised in her contract.

Bin Deemas told the worker she had the right, in case she refused the cut in her salary, to move to a job elsewhere. The ministry will give her a temporary permit to help find a new job, said the official. The ministry will also ensure the worker's former sponsor is made to give her everything that is hers by right, he added.

UAE only country to pass legislation to give workers a better deal in Mideast

Former U.S President Bill Clinton hailed the progress made by the United Arab Emirates on protecting the rights of expatriate workers, empowering women as well as on clean energy and environmental protection.

Speaking on the situation in the Middle East in a interview with ABC News on April 18th, the current situation in the Middle East, Clinton said the UAE "is the only the only country with huge amounts of imported workers that's actually passed legislation to give these immigrant workers a better deal in the Middle East." "They've got women in the government. They have a joint public-private decision making process," the former U.S president added.

Clinton also noted the UAE's successful bid to host the headquarters of the International Renewable Energy Agency, or IRENA, in Abu Dhabi and the emirate's plans to build Masdar City, the world's first carbon neutral city.

"UAE wins the international competition for the clean energy agency. And they're going to build a carbon neutral city in the UAE," he said. – Emirates News Agency, WAM

Kenya moves to resolve visa row with the UAE

NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 21 - President Mwai Kibaki has now ordered Foreign Affairs Minister Moses Wetangula to travel to Dubai and resolve the visa row between the two countries should the mission in Abu Dhabi not sort it out by Friday.

Mr Wetangula assured the country on Wednesday that he was in constant communication with United Arab Emirates officials and was working to have the new requirement for Kenyan visa applicants traveling there to possess degrees scrapped.

The Minister who spent hours in a meeting with the President earlier in the day said that in the last two days he had secured the issuance of pending work permits for Kenyans and renewal of those that had expired.

“I want to give an assurance that Kenyans who work in Dubai are under no threat of losing their jobs. Our mission in Abu Dhabi has been following the matter very successfully,” he said.

The new requirement is a retaliatory move by the United Arab Emirates after Kenyan authorities arrested and deported four of its citizens on suspicion of being terrorists. There were reports that some of the suspects arrested were from a royal family in the UAE.

“I don’t want to call this a crisis as it has been referred. It is an incident borne out of another incident which we have overcome by now and we want to move on into the future,” Mr Wetangula said.

It is estimated that over 36,000 Kenyans work in Dubai in the hospitality and construction industries. Thousands others frequent the free port city on business trips. Since the introduction of the new rules dozens of business people have been denied visas to travel there.

Many Kenyans pass through the country while heading to other parts of the world.The Minister confirmed that in the last two weeks two ministers and dozens of Members of Parliament had also been denied visas.

The business people especially in the textile industry have complained that they are losing millions of shillings in the crisis.

“For the business people who travel regularly I can only give you an assurance that the matter is in the hands of government and our counterparts across the Red Sea are fully committed to a very sound relationship between us.”