When one thinks about Kenya, two things surface in one’s mind, tourism and the long distance running athletes. Unfortunately, the recent post poll events mar the fame the country has achieved over a period of time. Even though the violence has not caused any loss of lives or injuries to the tourists, the psychological effect cannot be undone.
Kenya is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Africa and the GDP growth is directly proportional to its tourism growth. The bloody turmoil followed by the re-election of Mwai Kibaki has pushed the nation to total anarchy. In the era of internet, nerve wracking news like this, would put any economy out of track. Official death toll due to violence is estimated at 500 and business loss in excess of $1 billion. Business has come to a standstill and free movement of vehicles is curbed due to several roadblocks. Many of the restaurants and hotels are closed fearing backlash.
Last year Kenya achieved a stupendous GDP growth of 6.1% and it generated $900 million from tourism alone. The effects stretch far beyond tourism. The turmoil also has driven up prices of staple foods such as bread, maize flour and some vegetables. The transport problems also led to temporary fuel shortages in the region because supplies got stuck at the port in Mombasa. According to the World Bank, Kenya is the transit point for a quarter of the GDP of Uganda and Rwanda, and one-third of Burundi. UN has used Kenya has a logistic point to provide aid to neighboring countries like Somalia, Sudan, Uganda and Congo, but now those supplies are used to support the homeland refugees.
Political experts’ cry for international mediators and observers for elections in politically sensitive nations should be given a serious thought. The bloody events have not only distanced the tourists but also business from the Kenyan markets. Business community believes that even after normalcy is restored to get the momentum back in business would take a long time.