The 9th annual Kenya Diaspora home coming convention has been held from 7th to 9th December 2022, under the theme “leveraging diaspora resources for inclusive growth”. One of the wishes of the diasporians has been for the creation of a ministry or state department to deal with their issues, which has since been granted. This state department is charged with: dealing with continuous dialogue with Kenyans living abroad; Championing the protection of Kenya’s Diaspora rights and welfare; Supporting Kenyans in the diaspora in harnessing more opportunities for employment and enterprise development; dealing with diaspora Institutions; Developing Incentive framework for Diaspora Remittances; Harnessing Diaspora savings, facilitating Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) and Technology transfers; and Mainstreaming the Kenyan Diaspora into the national development process. In 2021, diaspora remittances amounted to Ksh 400 billion (roughly 4 percent of the economy), according to the Central Bank of Kenya.
The diaspora community can support local development through five major ways. First, they can work with the ministry of foreign affairs and other agencies of government to facilitate issuance of a successful diaspora bond that has evaded Kenyans for a long time due to the prevailing cash crunch challenge. Many countries have tapped onto the diaspora bonds to finance their local national needs. The bond is a win-win case for the diasporians, who get stable investment opportunities at home, and the government, which gets cheap and affordable credit to finance its ambitious development agenda. Secondly, the diaspora can promote trade, investments, research, innovation and knowledge/technology transfer locally, arising from the experiences and contacts that they have developed over time in the foreign lands. Many countries, including China developed by tapping the knowledge base of the west and repatriating the same to their home countries. Thirdly, diasporians should work with the government to operationalize the much-needed diaspora Sacco to increase savings and investments to support the clarion call by the President, and transform the diaspora sacco into a big bank. Fourthly, they should be encouraged to increase their remittances through a multi-pronged strategy to help the government get the most out of their large and successful diaspora communities; and fifth, increase utilization of diaspora human capital through knowledge transfer and collaboration, mentorship and training on various issues of national importance like: economy, debts, education reforms, savings, manufacturing, agriculture transformation, Dr. Mutegi Giti, Urban Manager, Nairobi.
Dr. Daniel Mutegi Giti 