Deal to cut cost of cash transfer
PHOTO | PSCU The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Qatar Investment/Holdings, Ahmad Mohamed Al Sayed introduces members of his delegation to President Uhuru Kenyatta when they called on him at his residential hotel in Doha.
What you need to know:
- African migrants pay the highest price globally to send money home
- During the second day of his State visit to Qatar, President Uhuru Kenyatta said talks between Kenya and Qatari institutions on how to make the transactions cheaper had started.
The government is negotiating a reduction in the cost of transferring money from the diaspora to Kenya.
During the second day of his State visit to Qatar, President Uhuru Kenyatta said talks between Kenya and Qatari institutions on how to make the transactions cheaper had started.
“The technology is available. What we need is to ensure that our banks are able to work with those in the countries where Kenyans are employed to see how they can send their money home at the least possible expense,” said the President.
This comes just a week after the World Bank released a report showing that African migrants pay the highest cost in the world to send money home.
The bank blamed the high remittance fees on lack of competition among the money transfer agents operating on the continent, calling on African governments to open up the remittances market as a measure to help bring down the costs.
“Governments should implement policies to open the remittances market up to competition. Increased competition as well as better informed consumers can help bring down remittance prices,” said Mr Massimo Cirasino, financial infrastructure and remittances service line manager at the World Bank.
The bank estimates that cutting the average cost of remittances to five per cent will put about $4 billion more in the pockets of the migrants and their families.
EXPLOIT LOCAL JOBSEEKERS
Currently, according to the World Bank report, African migrants pay 12.4 per cent of the value of the remittance to send money home.
President Kenyatta also said that the government was determined to ensure that Kenyans working abroad are respected at their places of work.
He said that plans were underway to deal with employment agents who exploit local jobseekers.
“This is something we are taking seriously and we are putting mechanisms in place to protect the interests of Kenyans working outside our borders,” he said.
There are about 7,000 Kenyans living and working in Qatar. The presidential strategic communications unit says an office has been established at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to deal with diaspora issues.
