Miguna Miguna
8 September 2006
opinion
Nairobi — There is nothing as useful to a North American as a car. It is the modern technological marvel that makes the fast-paced and stressful life - rife with toxic racism and discrimination in housing, employment and social life - manageable, especially to new immigrants who have to make do with menial jobs and dilapidated housing.
One of the significant changes Kenyans who emigrate to North America undergo is to rely on the car just as much as their Caucasian, Latino, Chinese, African-American or native of the region. Almost invariably, they shop, go to restaurants or cinema in cars.
When a Kenyan who has lived in North America decides to return home, the first thing he thinks about is how he would cope with commuting in the hustle and bustle of Nairobi.
For those who have bought or plan to acquire property in leafy suburbs such as Karen, Runda or contemplate commuting from Kiambu, importing a second-hand mechanical workhorse from North America comes to work.
The problem is: All vehicles in North America are left-hand drive. Moreover, Kenyans returning from North America cannot import a right-hand drive vehicle from the UK, Japan or Australia because they must have owned it for a minimum of 12 months. In addition, all vehicle imports must be less than eight years old from the date of manufacture.
It is not possible for an ordinary person who has spent the past 12 years breaking his back at McDonald's to travel to Europe, buy a brand new vehicle, own it for a year, export it to North America and stay with it for the same length of time before shipping it to Kenya.
Essentially, what this means is that people who have just completed their studies or been doing menial jobs at MacDonald's cannot return to Kenya with vehicles. Their option is to, therefore, use their meagre savings to buy exorbitantly priced vehicles in Kenya. Their prices are two to four times more than their fair market value in Europe or North America.
Theoretically, the prohibitive rules were introduced to "protect Kenyans and their environment" from sub-standard, dangerous, poisonous and impractical goods, chemicals or equipment.
The dumping of dangerous goods in our market is not just economically and environmentally catastrophic, but it has also killed creativity, innovation and scientific invention of our people.
The fact that Kenya has not been able to produce even a rudimentary vehicular engine locally is very sad.
The rules were also intended to protect the Kenyan market and car dealers from "flooding", unfair competition as well as to encourage and protect domestic entrepreneurs.
On the surface, the requirements appear sound and uncontroversial. However, they are punitive. They mean that Kenyans in North America cannot buy a used Japanese vehicle - one manufactured in 2003 - and import it to Kenya duty free because there are no used right hand drive vehicles in Japan.
And even if they were, Kenyans returning from North America would not satisfy the Kenya Bureau of Standards and Customs officials that they could have "owned" the car for one year prior to "importation".
What this means is that only Kenyan returnees from the UK, Australia and New Zealand, as well as parliamentarians, members of the diplomatic corps and senior military officers are allowed to import right hand drive vehicles duty free.
If this is the case, it means that the two pieces of legislation and other policies and guidelines governing the importation of duty free vehicles to Kenya were only meant to benefit a tiny privileged class of people. This is an outrage.
To achieve their objectives, the legislation or policies should be broad, fluid, fair and free from contradictions.
The law should permit reasonable discretion on the part of implementers without, at the same time, allowing or encouraging flagrant abuse or corruption.
Fairness means that the laws should not be used capriciously. Instead, the enforcers should be guided by the fundamental issues of balancing public against pure economic interests.
Laws, policies and regulations free of contradictions can be implemented without unnecessary controversy and seeming favouritism. If enforced properly and ethically as designed, fair legislation results in a system that we can closely call just.
Laws and policies governing importation of goods to Kenya ought to be fair and just to all. But in regard to Kenyans returning from abroad, it is even questionable whether this is importation.
This is because the subject of this article actually relates to "accompanying" personal effects. Strictly speaking, the goods are not imported. They are brought to the country so that the owners may continue using them as part their personal household belongings.
The laws on imports encourage Kenyan returnees from the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand to bring back their vehicles with limited hindrance.
However, they have shut out those from North America and elsewhere where motorists drive on the right side of the road and vehicles designed with the steering to the left.
The legislation also contemplates the importation of vehicles from the United Kingdom by politicians, military officers and members of the diplomatic corps, but ignores the Kenyan Diaspora in North America. This is grossly unjust and unfair and Parliament should address it.
The writer is a barrister & solicitor in Toronto, Canada
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2006 The East African Standard. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
