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"content": "Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, let me narrow down. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are documented as key labour destinations for Kenyan semi and unskilled migrant workers. According to reports by the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection, at least 88,0000 Kenyans live and work in the Kingdom of Saud Arabia. Majority of them serve as domestic workers. We also have those who are skilled. We visited some who worked for the Mobile Company STC and for Almarai, a huge agricultural company there which has almost 5,000 Kenyans. About 2,000 work in the telecom sector while some are engineers. I remember meeting, George Odongo, who works for the Saudi Metro, the rail system, which we need in Nairobi. The guys who did the Dubai Metro and the Saudi Metro are Kenyans. Therefore, it is not just domestic workers. I intend to bring them to Kenya when I become the Governor, God willing, Inshallah! Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, labour migration is viewed positively for many of them. I must state it here. I want Senators to listen to it keenly. Out of 88,000 Kenyans working in Saudi Arabia, many of them are very happy because they are able to send remittances and feed their families. However, a huge number are suffering. It might be small in terms of percentages, but anybody here will tell you even one life lost, is one life too many. If one Kenyan lady is in distress, it is one Kenyan lady, too many. I will give an example of the remittances that we receive as a county from those living in the diaspora. This is because it has played a vital role in our social-economic development. In 2015, the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) reported that diaspora remittances amounted to USD155 billion. That is excluding unofficial remittances. That represents three per cent of Kenya‟s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Further, the Gulf states and other countries contribute 18.2 per cent at position number three after North America, after 50 per cent of the share. Recent data between January and June, 2021 shows that remittances from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are at third place after United States America (USA) and the United Kingdom (UK). In that regard, there is an urgent need to streamline migration processes and governance to guarantee security and protect the constitutional rights and well-being of all Kenyans, at the same time, leveraging on these gains. Mr. Temporary Speaker Sir, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has more than 13 million non-Saudis working there because of the nature of their lifestyle. Currently, the 88,000 and they said they would want 200,000 this year and maybe, up to a million. If this is streamlined properly and we take care of our Kenyans by protecting them, they will earn a proper salary, have the benefits, move around with their passports and with the documentation. It is indeed a frontier. However, until then, there are certain measures this Committee wants to convince Senators to take for the benefit. It is needless to say that in the last years with the rising number of Kenyans leaving the country for domestic jobs in the Middle East, there has been a corresponding increase in distress calls by those alleging torture and mistreatment by their employers. For instance, as at 2021, it is disheartening that the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection reported 93 deaths of Kenyans in the Middle East."
}