Brexit vote will not harm Kenya-UK ties

The Brexit vote sent shock waves around the world, creating confusion as leaders in Kenya, the US and other countries reacted cautiously. State House Spokesperson Manoah Esipisu said the President had been briefed on the outcome of the vote but declined to give his views on the outcome.

“It is democracy, the British have made their choice. The President has been sufficiently briefed and officials continue to study the impact of the vote,” Mr Esipisu said.

The White House said in a statement that President Barack Obama was being briefed on the UK referendum, and he will continue to be updated by his team “as the situation warrants.”

The White House statement read: “We expect the president will have an opportunity to speak to Prime Minister Cameron over the course of the next day, and we will release further comment as soon as appropriate.”

Shocked markets

The decision by Britain to exit the EU has shocked global markets and sent the pound tanking to the lowest level in 31 years. President Obama had encouraged Britain to remain in the EU but said the decision was up to voters.

The UK has been one of the most stable economies in the EU bloc, which has been funding numerous projects in Africa, like the African Union Mission in Somalia and trade through the European Development Fund. Following Prime Minister David Cameron’s resignation yesterday, his planned State visit to Kenya next month might not materialise.

“I do not comment on the Prime Minister’s diary but the relationship between Kenya and the UK will not be affected by the vote,” said the UK High Commissioner to Kenya Nic Hailey. According to Kenya’s Ambassador to Belgium and the EU Johnson Weru, Kenya stands to gain in terms of bilateral engagements. “We may gain from this exit in a minimal way. But in the fullness of time, what will give us direction is legislation that will be developed to give effect to the referendum,” Mr Weru told The Standard on Saturday from Belgium.

Weru acknowledged the instance developments with the Britons vote at the referendum, arguing that Norway and Switzerland are not full members of the EU but they somehow relate with decisions they think are good.

“For instance, if you have a Schengen Visa, you can enter Switzerland, which is not a member of Schengen. But when doing money transfer, you cannot transfer money directly to Switzerland because the country is not a member of the European monitory system,” said Weru.

On Cameron’s announced State visit to Kenya, Weru says it may not be possible. “I do not see it happening. It will be better for the future so that whoever picks up the political leadership of the UK, comes with greater strength, in terms of concluding bilateral agreements instead of being signed by third parties,” he said.

Weru, who also represents Kenya’s national interests, in partnership with other member states of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States, noted that the impact of the exit will be on the banking industry. He nevertheless stressed that, “The world is governed by rules and these rules are clear on the implementation framework.

We have two years of transition, which will allow everybody to bring their pieces on board.” The ambassador argues that for now, except for the immediate reaction of investment and the money markets, Kenya and the African continent agreement is intact, save for signing of power agreements. “We will keep the doors open for the next two years. In the meantime, we will wait to hear from the UK regarding critical decisions on where it wants to go, in terms of common international instruments like standards and banking,” said Weru.

EU standards

He said: “It is not unlikely that it will change the EU standards. Whatever is good for them, will be good for us. The International community has been challenged to scale up its development support and finances to the developing nations. President Kenyatta recently expressed concern that third world countries continue to get a raw deal, despite various trade agreements signed with the EU, which remains a major trade block. Addressing representatives of ACP at a meeting in Brussels, Belgium, Uhuru attributed the poor trading levels to conditionalities and other bureaucratic requirements put by the EU.

He faulted the current ACP regime of doing nothing to avert this situation. “On the trade front, it is apparent that the current regime has not met the expectations in ACP countries.

The impact of the development cooperation efforts with the EU has been limited despite the elaborate mechanisms in place,” said the president.