By Staff Reporter
WINDHOEK
The prospects for strong economic growth in Kenya is likely after the peace accord was signed between the ruling and opposition parties involved in the bloody fallout after last year’s contested general elections, said Roelof Horne, portfolio manager on Investec Management’s frontier markets team.
“Kenya’s crisis has actually been the crucible for the creation of a more modern democratic African country on an increasingly economically relevant African continent,” said Horne.
Kenya, he said, remains a driving force in East Africa from an investment point of view.
He expected a short-term relief rally for Kenyan equities, but added that with the Kenyan shilling expected to appreciate back to its previously highs versus the US dollar, international investors could get an extra bonus on currency strength.
“In the medium term, we expect Kenya, and the East African region, to go from strength to strength, and attract increasing international investor interest.”
He expressed optimism that Kenya’s recovery will be a quick one, underscoring that this is dependent on a united commitment from the PNU and the ODM towards the agreed-upon transitional government, electoral laws, and proposed constitutional reforms in the National Accord and
Reconciliation Act.