GET /api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1119979/?format=api
HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 1119979,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1119979/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 247,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Should we sit back and watch as leaders in this great Republic or should we make comprehensive and substantive interventions based on the information that we have received as Parliament? It is my hope that when those policy documents and legislation are brought, we will be able to fast track their passage and enactment. In the meantime, we shall take action. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, this labour migration to key labour destinations has been going on in the absence of either formal agreements or Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) for a long time. In fact, there is one that we are really pushing and waiting for, the Bilateral Labor Agreement (BLA) on skilled labour because they are looking for skilled labour. They are building a brand new city. We have engineers, electricians, masons in all those skills who will have opportunities there once we have a proper framework between us. The MOUs that are in existence are weak and are deemed insufficient in safeguarding the rights and well-being of Kenyan migrants. We did a comparative analysis with other countries, and this explains the numerous ongoing cases of abuse being experienced by those seeking employment in those countries. I am sure the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Labour and our agencies are listening. With the growing number of migrants to the Middle East, there is need for us to streamline processes for effective governance of recruitment processes and that is a matter of priority. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the recruitment agencies, which are in their hundreds in this country should conduct pre-departure training. Some ladies are taken as domestic workers during the month of Ramadhan and they complain that they are not being given food because they have not been trained on the culture and religious practices of their hosts. Some of them have not gone to Form Four or even high school and some are from deep in the village. People in some parts of this country do not have exposure to different religions. Some do not even know how to take care of themselves, what time to get up and many other things. Cultural issues create tension. There is the issue of migrants‟ legal identification and registration. What happens when the migrant worker goes there and gives birth after the medical test has been done? What happens to the citizenship of that child? Those are questions that have arisen and we have to discuss how our laws are different. If a child is born in this country and their parentage is not known, but he or she is deemed to be below the age of eight, then they are assumed to be Kenyan citizens. There is need to harmonize what our laws provide and what the laws of those countries provide. There has to be screening, assessments, referrals, enhanced and formalization of linkages between our ministries and the destination government ministries. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, Article 221 of the Constitution gives us the mandate to appropriate resources for various government agencies to implement policies and programs. On the same breadth, we have to foster a safe, orderly and regular migration in line with the objectives, principles and values of the Global Compact of which we are a signatory to as a country. We need resources and in this regard, it is unfortunate that in specific key migrant destinations like Jeddah in Riyadh, formal mechanisms including"
}