Plan on for East African visa

Visitors to the five East African Community countries could soon have a common visa if high-level talks between representatives of the countries bear fruit.

Consultations are at an advanced stage with meetings between ministers and other top officials taking place in various capital cities.

East African Community minister Amason Kingi said the integration of the immigration departments in Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda would open up the region for economic advancement. 

“A common visa would enable visitors to visit the member states with ease. This will result into an unrivalled wide package for our region and pool tourists to the hub,” he said.

Residents of the member states would also cross the borders to carry out business and other activities for the benefit of their individual countries and the region, said Mr Kingi.

“We want to market East Africa as a single tourism package as opposed to the current scenario in which individual countries are marketing themselves,” said Mr Kingi, who is the Magarini MP. 

Fight exploitation

The minister was speaking at Mwembe Resort Hotel during the launch of Malindi Protects Children campaign aimed at fighting child sexual exploitation in the tourism sector. The event was presided over by Tourism minister Najib Balala.

The policy would also prohibit member states from speaking ill about other East African Community members during their marketing strategies, he said. 

Mr Kingi decried the rise in child sex tourism in Malindi, saying it must be stopped since it had painted the destination negatively in Europe.