Kenyan President, Ruto, Seek End To Dollar Payment Among African Traders

Kenyan President, William Ruto, has asked other African countries to embrace local currencies during trading within the continent.

Ruto said traders from different African countries should reduce their dependence on the use of dollars to ease business transactions. 

He questioned why African traders will be looking for dollars to trade on the continent when they could adopt the pan-African payment and settlement system (PAPSS) of Afreximbank.

Ruto made this known on Tuesday while speaking to the Djibouti parliament, asking the lawmakers, “From Djibouti selling to Kenya or traders from Kenya selling to Djibouti, we have to look for US dollars. How is US dollars part of the trade between Djibouti and Kenya? Why?” 

The president said the payment of dollars should come into play during business transactions with US traders and not between African traders. 

“We are not against the US dollar. We just want to trade more freely. Let us pay in US dollars what we are buying from the US. 

“But what we are buying from Djibouti, let’s use local currency,” Ruto told the lawmakers, urging African countries to adopt Afreximbank’s payment system as Kenya has done.

“That is why Kenya champions the Pan African Payment and Settlement System that is done by our own institution — the Afreximbank. 

“Why, members? Why is it necessary for us to buy things from Djibouti and pay in dollars? There is no reason,” Ruto said. 

Meanwhile, Prime Business Africa reported last week that Ruto is considering the plan to abolish visa restrictions for citizens from other African countries.

This will ease the adoption of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), allowing Africans to travel to Kenya to do business without restriction.

Ruto said: “My minister (for Trade Moses Kuri) has informed me that somehow some of our officials made you pay visas to come home and asked me to apologize, which I do. When one comes home, they don’t pay to come home.” 

He added: “I want to promise you that this might be the last time you are looking for a visa to come to Kenya because of two reasons. Number one, because this is home, and number two, we support wholeheartedly the AfCFTA. We must remove any impediments to the movement of people around our continent.”