Central and East Africa

Craig Tracey Excerpts

Monday 25th January 2016 Commons Chamber

[Craig Tracey (North Warwickshire) (Con)]

I intend to speak well within the time that you have given us as a guideline, Madam Deputy Speaker. It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Hyndburn (Graham Jones). I am very pleased to speak in this important debate, which has been sponsored by the Backbench Business Committee. I congratulate my hon. and learned Friend the Member for Sleaford and North Hykeham (Stephen Phillips) on securing it. He has a deserved reputation for taking a detailed interest in, and having a deep concern for, the situation in central and east Africa.

I will confine my remarks today to one country. It is a country with which our country has an equally deep connection and that, despite its many opportunities, has suffered a troubled history. That country is Kenya. To many British people, Kenya meant safari, “Born Free” and Elsa the lioness. For the older generation, perhaps it means the Mau Mau and the dark episode of the Hola camp. But today it means terrorism and kidnap, al-Shabaab and the terrible attack on a Nairobi shopping mall. Even as recently as 15 January, the Kenyan Government warned that, because of their involvement in attacking terrorists in Somalia, the likelihood of further attacks has only increased.

The battle against terrorism in Kenya has been costly. In a single attack in 2015 on a university college, 140 people were killed. That is why I welcome the steps taken by our own Government to help Kenya to tackle the threat to its stability and realise its potential for future prosperity.

In September 2015, the United Kingdom and Kenya committed themselves to a new defence co-operation agreement, which will significantly boost the defence relationship between our countries. It will enable the United Kingdom to give additional support to Kenya’s maritime security, and will ensure the continuation of British military training in the country. That is important to the fitness and readiness of our own servicemen and women to tackle problems on foreign terrain that may threaten us on the streets of our constituencies. The agreement will result in improved military capabilities on both sides, and I congratulate the Foreign Office and the Ministry of Defence on their successful efforts to secure it.

[Kevin Foster (Torbay) (Con)]

My hon. Friend is making some very interesting points. Does he agree that, as I have said a few times myself, international development aims and military capability are not mutually exclusive but work together and complement each other, and that this agreement is a perfect example of that process?

[Craig Tracey]

I could not agree more. My hon. Friend has put it very well.

A stable Kenya can be a prosperous Kenya. The country has the largest, most diversified and most innovative economy in East Africa. However, that potential is currently not being fulfilled. The number of poor people in Kenya is thought to be constant or growing, owing to low growth and rising inequality. In 2005, 43% of the population were living on under £1 a day. I believe that, while we must of course help Kenya militarily, we must also play our part—because of our long and shared history—in supporting its development economically, as well as in terms of education and training. I am pleased that the Department for International Development has recognised that and is promoting broad-based, sustainable economic development and job creation by improving the investment climate, market development, trade, and access to finance. I am also reassured by the fact that DFID aid is strengthening systems for the delivery of health, education and social protection services.

However, British help must ensure that no one is left behind in the development processes. That includes women and girls, as well as the extreme poor who live in Kenya’s arid and semi-arid lands, and refugees from neighbouring countries. If we do not help to stabilise the economy, improve education and offer hope to the most marginalised, we cannot hope that some of them—perhaps many—will not become radicalised, and fall under the spell of Kenya’s enemies and ours.

Crucial to winning my constituents’ support for these initiatives is a determined effort to stamp out corruption. We cannot expect British taxpayers to support the funding of international projects if they fear that the money they advance will fall not into the hands of those who need it or know how to use it, but into the bank accounts of corrupt officials. Kenya is ranked 136 out of 177 countries on Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index, and impunity remains a key challenge. No significant convictions have arisen for economic crimes, criminal violence or terrorism, despite several corruption scandals, large-scale organised political violence following the 2007 elections, and numerous terrorist attacks. Both the President and the Deputy President have been indicted by the International Criminal Court. While I support the help that we give to Kenya, I ask Ministers to make it absolutely clear to the recipients of aid—and to my constituents in North Warwickshire and Bedworth who are helping to pay for it—that we will accept no hint of corruption or money laundering, and that any individual or organisation who is responsible for it will be strongly held to account.

Despite its troubled past and difficult present, Kenya has the opportunity to secure a bright future. Our own Government recognise that, which is why our aid support for Kenya has increased by nearly 50% over the last six years. I hope that we, as Members of Parliament, will recognise it as well, and will ask our Government to continue their work—with the authorities in Nairobi—to bring about stability, transparency and an end to the dual threats of poverty and corruption that bedevil Kenya in particular and, sadly, so many central and east African countries in general.