What Kenyans Can Expect From The WTO Conference

The WTO Ministerial Conference is the first WTO gathering to be held in Africa and Kenya. It will be led by CS Amina Mohamed, the first female minister to preside over the meetings since they began, and it is estimated to bring in more than 7,000 delegates from 160 member countries of the WTO.

Already Nairobians have been notified on the disruption this conference will have on their movements. Traffic flow on most roads in Nairobi will be disrupted and security has been scaled up after the World Trade Organisation meeting kicked off on Monday. Roads to be affected during the WTO event include Parliament Road, Harambee Avenue, City Hall Way, Taifa Road and Wabera Street. City Hall Way was closed on Sunday night while the rest be closed on Monday from 6:00 a.m.

While this kind of disruption has become a normal occurrence whenever dignitaries and delegations are in the city, there is something different about this time. The WTO Conferences usually do not have the best interests of developing countries in mind. Its more powerful members have been accused of using arm-twisting tactics to push developing countries into making bad deals. The majority of other WTO members are developing countries from Africa, Asia/Pacific and Latin America, though many of them have little say in decisions that are taken at WTO meetings.

In a press statement, an alliance calling itself People’s Coalition on Food Sovereignty (PCFS) told developing countries to stop expecting solutions from the WTO, because rich countries are using the organisation to benefit themselves.

The WTO Conference are often accompanied by teargas-filled protests, the most notable being the 1999 Seattle WTO Riots. The trade negotiations there were quickly overshadowed by massive and controversial street protests outside the hotels and the Washington State Convention and Trade Center.The scale of the demonstrations—even the lowest estimates put the crowd at over 40,000—dwarfed any previous demonstration in the United States against a world meeting of any of the organizations generally associated with economic globalization.

The closing of roads would therefore be a hindrance to any sort of protests that would come up during the four day conference. Is there a risk of any sort of demonstration?

Cidi Otieno is the chairman and convener for the Coalition for Constitution Implementation, a lobby group of civil society bodies pushing for the full implementation of the constitution.

 

In a post on his blog, Cidi stated:

 

“The Coalition for Constitution Implementation Kenya (CCI Kenya) on behalf of the Social Movements Working Group Against WTO condemns with strongest terms announcement by Government that Harambee Avenue, Parliament Road, Taifa Road and City Hall Way will be closed for one week during the WTO MC10 to be held in Nairobi.

To this effect, CCI Kenya on behalf of the Social Movement Working Group Against WTO wish to announce that demos that were earlier planned Against WTO MC10 calling for an end to WTO are on and shall take place on 17 December from Freedom Corner via Uhuru Highway, Parliament Road, Harambee Avenue, Moi Avenue, City Hall Way to KICC. There shall also be daily gatherings at Tom Mboya Monument every afternoon as from 15th December 2015.

 

He also goes on state that the Kenyan government will be held responsible for every loss of lives, destruction to Property or any injuries that shall arise for any attempt to stop lawful gathering of Protesters during the conference.

The Kenyan government and the police service have been known to be heavy handed when handling protests in the Capital. In January, children and activists marched to protest the sale of a school playground in Nairobi, in a protest dubbed #OccupyPlayground. The protest turned violent when police fired tear gas into the crowd. At least 10 students were taken to the hospital for injuries including tear-gas exposure.

Earlier this month Kenyan police tear-gassed a peaceful demonstration in support of government action against corruption. Police blocked the protesters’ attempts to proceed to State House, the official residence of President Uhuru Kenyatta. Thirty-three people were arrested and then released with a warning.

Following the trend of police tear gassing and arresting protesters, regardless of age or intent, one has to ask whether the same fate faces the Kenyan farmers that are threatening to demonstrate the conference. Security in the city has been intensified, with more police officers being deployed to provide security and direct traffic due to the high profile dignitaries attending the event.

Sadly the gloss that surrounds the promise of the WTO is a thin veneer hiding a globalization agenda that leaves independent and small enterprises in the lurch. Kenyans can expect a lot of talk about trying to bring Kenya into the larger global economy with trade deals that will not benefit local traders. This would appear to be another recipe for large scale protests, but many will not want to face the trigger happy Kenya Police.

 

What do you think? Will things go awry, or will it be business as usual? Let us know what you think. olivia@mondeas.com