Mombasa: The Principal Secretary for the State Department for Labour and Skills Development, Shadrack Mwadime, has affirmed the government’s commitment to reforming the overseas job recruitment sector to eliminate rogue agencies.
According to Kenya News Agency, during the graduation ceremony of 24 divers from Kerio Valley, who had undergone intense training at Bandari Maritime Academy, Mwadime acknowledged the challenges within the sector. He noted that complaints have been received from youths defrauded by unscrupulous agencies. The government is determined to clean up the sector, recognizing the lack of local job opportunities but the existence of opportunities abroad.
Mwadime emphasized the government’s resolve to continuously deregister rogue agencies that exploit job-seeking Kenyans, promising to protect them from being swindled under false pretenses of lucrative overseas employment. He urged youths to verify any agency’s legitimacy on the National Employment Authority website before making financial commitments.
He also reiterated the government’s effort to streamline the industry through regulation and pledged to ensure that victims of fraud are refunded and the offenders brought to justice. Mwadime stressed the importance of the government’s role in facilitating, not directly recruiting, Kenyans for overseas jobs, clarifying that the economy is driven by the private sector.
The PS’s comments come in the wake of a report by Amnesty International titled ‘Locked In, Left Out: The Hidden Lives of Kenyan Domestic Workers in Saudi Arabia,’ documenting the challenges faced by Kenyan domestic workers in the Gulf. The report urged the government to ensure its labor agreements with Saudi Arabia are rights-based, offering protections that align with international standards.
In a bid to unlock maritime job opportunities, Mwadime revealed that the State Department of Shipping and Maritime Affairs is collaborating with the State Department of Immigration to streamline the issuance of Seafarer’s Identification Documents (SID), essential for facilitating seafarers’ work-related travel.
