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{
    "id": 1119547,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1119547/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 224,
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    "content": "(JKIA), you will notice that many Kenyans travel to the Middle East to look for job opportunities. One of the greatest resources, if we take care, is having Kenyans who are working abroad. You saw the other day we were told that the United Kingdom (UK) needed 300 nurses, even though later, we were being told that most of them did not understand English. I did not know where that came from, but that is a story for another day. Another resource that Kenya can export is the human resource. Every Kenyan everywhere is looking for a job opportunity from the qualification of after Form Four, certificate, diploma, degree, masters and even PhD. How do we harness, bring on board and ensure that we protect our labour and our sisters and brothers who work in the Arab Emirates or the Far East? Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I thank the Committee on Labour and Social Welfare, led by Sen. Sakaja, for finding time to visit those countries to understand the challenges that Kenyans go through. Apart from the diaspora challenges of renewal of passports, issuance of Huduma Namba and renewal of Identity Cards (IDs), we realised that there is need for deportation or holding centres in those counties, so that our children are well protected. This is an important matter and that is why I have always insisted that we should have a special directorate to deal with diaspora issues. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs should be able to tell Kenyans how many young people are in those deportation centres waiting to be deported; how many are in holding centres or how many are in distress. All of us get distress messages of people who are stranded. We have seen sad videos on social media, where young girls are pleading for help because they are being frustrated and humiliated. Going into the future, the Ministry of Labour should have a requirement for agents running these organisations to sign a certificate of a particular conduct or responsibility. It is good that the Chairperson of the Committee has indicated that there is even insurance. Why is it that agents are quick to take people to the diaspora, but when it comes to somebody being frustrated or is sick, it becomes very hard for them to repatriate or bring them back to the country? Yesterday, we were told that the moment you take one person to work there, you get USD1,500. That is good money for them. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I agree with the Committee report that we should know how many Kenyans are in distress, those in detention or deportation centres and their employers. On many occasions, I have read allegations on social media, where somebody claims to work in 10 houses or his job descriptions were not clear. It is a clear violation of human rights. Kenya is a signatory to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and there are particular standards that must be followed. In the interest of the country, the Committee also recommended suspension of the export of labour for some time because many Kenyans have died there. Their bodies are brought back to the country without any explanation of the circumstances that led to their death. We are reactionary in nature and the only time we are active is when such a matter is reported by the media or on social media. That is when we say that there is need to address this issue."
}