How Somalia is stabilising Kenya and Uganda economically

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Although it is ranked as one of the most corrupt and insecure countries, Somalia’s stabilisation mission may have after all yielded fruits, with the Horn of Africa nation now being one of the states attracting foreigners, some who are working and others dwelling on investments.

According to a diplomatic source, total remittances from Somalia to Kenya and Uganda have clocked $180 million and $21 million respectively, a clear indication that several East Africans may have moved to Somalia to seek job opportunities.

Currently, there are close to 35,000 Ugandans in Somalia remitting up to $60,000 per day with Kenyan remittances estimated to be $500,000 daily. Kenya is a close neighbour of Somalia and the two cooperate well on trade and investment.

“We just need to wake our people to add value to the skills that we want to market here to get more from this economy,” Nathan Mugisha, Uganda’s Deputy Head of Mission in Somalia told The EastAfrican in Mogadishu.

“We have a lot of opportunities here in agriculture, human skilled labour, especially in the construction sector and mining. We just need to get more organised. This mission contributes $50,000–$60,000 per day in remittances, but that’s nothing compared with what Kenyans send home.”

From Kenya, Somalia has been seeking highly skilled services with a number of them also joining corporate, humanitarian, services and hotel and hospitality management roles.

Diplomats have recently stated that there are more than 30,000 Kenyans currently employed in Somalia, and this number is expected to grow fivefold in the next five years as a result of the Horn of Africa nation joining the East African Community, guaranteeing free movement of persons within the bloc.

Somalia is not captured in the latest Central Bank of Kenya report on remittances for the year ended March 2024, which lists Tanzania, Uganda, South Africa, Nigeria, South Sudan, Zambia, Ivory Coast, Egypt and Malawi as the top sources of money transfers by diaspora Kenyans to their country.

According to Robert Mugimba, a counsellor in the Ugandan embassy, Somalia might overtake Saudi Arabia in terms of remittances. Uganda, just like Kenya, is a major security and development partner of Somalia.

GAROWE ONLINE