The leader of the Democracy for Citizens Party, DCP, Rigathi Gachagua, says Kenyans in the diaspora deserve direct representation in government, citing their role as the country’s top foreign exchange earner.
Speaking during a UK tour to launch the DCP’s UK chapter, Gachagua explained that the visit had two main goals: to strengthen party activities abroad and to engage with the Kenyan diaspora on their role in the country’s future.
“The diaspora are serious stakeholders”
At a dinner with Kenyans in the UK on Saturday, he laid out what their place would be under a DCP-led administration.
“The diaspora brigade is number one foreign exchange earner for our country,” he said. He traced the shift in Kenya’s economy over the decades from coffee in the 1970s, to tea in the 1980s, tourism in the 1990s, and now remittances from Kenyans abroad.
“Today, the remittances from diaspora are number one foreign exchange earner for our country. And we are saying, if you contribute such a huge amount to the economy, you must have a say,” he stated.
Push for political representation and professional inclusion
Gachagua argued that diaspora Kenyans should be part of decision-making at every level of government. “People from diaspora must play a critical role in our administration in the executive, in the senate, in the national assembly, in the county assemblies,” he said.
He also proposed tapping diaspora professionals to run Kenya’s embassies and high commissions.
“If it’s here in the UK, why would I go back home to look for a high commissioner? We have competent men and women with the necessary qualifications and experience who understand the UK much better than anybody else coming from Kenya,” he said.
“You cannot contribute this much and have no voice” Gachagua concluded that the current arrangement, where diaspora Kenyans fund critical state functions without political voice, is unsustainable.
