Minister of Tourism Lindiwe Sisulu accompanied by the acting CEO launched the Tourism Month at !Khwa Ttu Nature Reserve as part of an initiative to attract more tourists. Picture: Phando Jikelo/African News Agency (ANA)
Pretoria – Kenyans will be able to enter South Africa visa-free for a period of 90 days, starting from January 2023 as one way of strengthening ties between the two countries, APA learnt on Thursday.
President Cyril Ramaphosa made the announcement during his state visit to Kenya which kicked off in Nairobi on Wednesday, during which he held talks with his Kenyan counterpart William Ruto before signing several memoranda of understanding and agreements at the state house in the Kenyan capital.
“We agreed that indeed Kenyans should be able to visit South Africa without requiring them to have visas,” Ramaphosa said.
He added: “This dispensation will commence on the 1st of January 2023 and our officials will speed up the processes of putting it into effect.”
He explained that the new visa-free regime would be available to Kenyans for a 90-day period in a year.
“We will be able to review this and get reports from our ministers within the year and see how this is functioning,” he told reporters.
Ramaphosa said the move would strengthen the relationship between the two African countries.
“Kenyans and South Africans have multiplicities of relations in business, social, communal and at relative levels. They want to be able to travel, and tourism between our two countries will be greatly enhanced through this,” the president said.
During the talks, the two countries also signed deals in the areas of correctional and prison services, housing and human settlements, arts and culture, and schools of government, they announced.
Read the latest issue of IOL Travel digital magazine here.
Related Topics: