- Dollar inflows from African countries into Kenya witnessed a steep fall of 65.9 per cent in the first three months this year.
- The major reason for the decline is the lower remittances from South Africa, which was the biggest source last year.
Dollar inflows from African countries into Kenya witnessed a steep fall of 65.9 per cent in the first three months this year. The major reason for the decline is the lower remittances from South Africa, which was the biggest source last year. Tanzania has overtaken South Africa as the biggest source of remittances this year.
According to the latest data by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) Kenyans living across the continent sent home $39 million (Ksh4.2 billion) between January and March compared to $114.7 million (Ksh12.3 billion) in the same period of 2020.
The negative impact of the coronavirus has been felt much more in Africa as these countries did not have the capacity to offer bail outs and social support. As a result of job cuts, pay cuts and lockdown measures kenyans living in other African countries were unable to send money home.
The US remained the largest source of inflows, accounting for 55.9 percent of remittances in March 2021. Dollar flows from the US saw a 17 per cent increase in total remittances from $707.1 million (Ksh76.3 billion) in the first quarter of last year to $829.4 million (Kshh89.5 billion) this year.
The CBK said in a press statement that the share of other top source countries were: UK (11.2 percent), Saudi Arabia (4.0 percent), Canada (2.9 percent), and Australia (2.9 percent).
