Diplomacy: Why number of Kenya’s embassies abroad has divided govt

Kenya’s 56 foreign missions abroad are coming under the spotlight again, with the question on whether they are giving the country a return on investment. And with an annual spend as high as Sh200 million per mission, Kenya’s legislators are questioning why such offices exist in some countries considered less strategic.

Neighbouring Ethiopia announced it was closing down embassies in Algeria and Ireland and plans to shut down others due to economic strain. Should Kenya do the same?

It is a view the Ministry of Foreign Affairs sees as simplistic, and opposed any bids to cut down the embassies.

On Tuesday night, the ministry issued a statement indicating the budget for those missions was, in fact, “modest”, and that the physical presence of diplomats in foreign countries is what has worked for Kenya.

“It is imperative to understand that diplomatic practice is strongly linked to presence, trust, negotiation and interpersonal interactions, which are facilitated by having diplomatic missions in host countries,” the ministry said in a statement.

“For Kenya to benefit from the immense opportunities that diplomacy portends, its foreign relations must be matched by robust diplomatic engagement and presence.”

So what led to the statement? Last week, the Parliamentary Budget Office proposed that Kenya cuts down the number of its embassies to reduce the cost of implementing its foreign policy. Instead, it suggested that Nairobi hires foreigners – called honorary consuls -- to serve its interests abroad.

Sometimes the consuls work as volunteers not on the government payroll, but may, from time to time, be given assignments, such as rescuing trafficked girls stuck in Jordan or Lebanon; or getting information in countries where a Kenyan firm wants to invest and wants to know the market. Usually, it works.

Lecture Parliament

The PBO’s argument is that Kenya has raised its missions from just under 50 ten years ago, to 56 full embassies and 31 honorary consulates today, yet its exports and economic engagements have remained solely tied to relations established decades ago.

“Honorary consuls offer an efficient diplomatic channel of increasing a country’s diplomatic network as they are cost-effective than fully-fledged missions because of the lower costs attached to maintain honorary consuls as they serve for free and only require [to be] reimbursed for expenses incurred in offering their services,” PBO said.

In President Uhuru Kenyatta’s time, he has opened embassies in Angola, Namibia, Algeria, Cuba, Ireland, Malaysia and Senegal. The latter was the first diplomatic mission opened in Francophone West Africa, and may have been out of frustrations realised in 2017 during campaigns to have then Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed elected chairperson of the African Union Commission. Most of the  region voted for Kenya’s rivals.

Honorary consuls, though, are not often dedicated to serving as ambassadors, and Nairobi thinks that proposal will hurt its foreign policy.
On Tuesday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs appeared to lecture Parliament on the functions of diplomacy, which traditionally have involved communication, negotiation, gathering of important information, managing the country’s public image and implementing policies.

These duties, the statement says, cannot be given to foreigners with part-time commitments, it said.

“An understanding of any country’s diplomatic thrust must be hinged on a broader comprehension of a country’s strategic national interests and the role of diplomacy to deliver on those interests.

“Top among Kenya’s interests are a thriving economy, sustainable development, territorial integrity, sovereignty, peace, security and stability within the motherland, the region and globally. As the world faces immense pressures emanating from black swan events, Kenya’s diplomacy is also engaging in global strategic mapping and foresight to avert and mitigate the severity of crises.”  

The ministry says its budget is not even among the highest in government and it has fewer embassies than other African countries such as Nigeria, South Africa and  Morocco. The three, however, also have bigger economies than Kenya’s.

The ministry was allocated Sh18.2 billion, but has been seeking a further Sh5 billion for purchasing property for ambassadors annually in the next five years to ease the rent burden. Yet officials argue that the budget pales in the face of those for Defence, Education, Agriculture and Transport. To be fair, these are also ministries charged with the country’s defence policy, free basic schooling and massive infrastracture projects, mostly erected on financial loans.

The criticism with Kenya’s foreign missions is that they have a poor consular service. Kenyans stranded abroad are often told to pay for their rescue or evacuation and the response in Nairobi is that there is no budget for that. This line of defence has persisted since the President Daniel Moi days, making it difficult for ordinary citizens to understand why embassies exist in some countries.

Last year, at the height of Covid-19 lockdowns, Kenyans stuck in India, China and the UK, for instance, were told to show they could raise airfare before Kenya Airways planes flew in to take them out. And when Afghanistan imploded in August, Nairobi said Kenyans living there will be rescued by their employers, although Kenya had no diplomatic relations with Kabul.

While very few countries in the world do evacuations for free, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has never created an emergency fund to be tapped by stranded Kenyans, even as a credit offering.

Yet, its defence of the embassies is that there is more than just trading and exporting of goods.

“Missions also undertake a broader function in favour of Kenya’s economic competitiveness. “They promote Kenya as a business and investment destination and a gateway to the rest of Africa, organise and facilitate trade fairs and elaborate on Kenya’s business environment as well as the country’s fiscal and monetary policies and procedures for investment in the country.”

Honorary consuls may make economic sense, the ministry argued, but won’t “speak to the power of in-person presence by nationals of the country”.