The Committee on Diaspora Affairs and Migrant Workers has called for the cancellation of licenses of recruiting agencies, and a fresh registration of the agencies once new regulations have been put in place. 

The Members were speaking this morning during an engagement with the Cabinet Secretary (CS) for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs , Dr. Alfred Mutua at the TradeMark hotel in Nairobi. 

The Members told the CS that it was time to fix the mess of the distress experienced by immigrant workers especially in the gulf countries. They noted that unless the current situation is ameliorated, Kenya would continue to lose thousands of undocumented Kenyan workers, some of whom are currently victims of human trafficking.

The Hon. Haika Mizighi led Committee further observed that besides fresh registration, the relevant ministries would need to carefully pick up a new vetting team to give the process a clean start. 

The Chairperson wondered why the government had continued to renew licenses for unscrupulous employment agencies despite the distress they had put up their recruits through over the years. 

“Why do we keep on renewing licenses for rogue recruitment agencies? We need to cancel all permits and develop new regulations for the recruitment of migrant workers. We consequently will need to get a new vetting team for these agencies. We also need to borrow from the experiences of countries whose workers have been granted favourable working conditions”, Hon. Mizighi told the CS. 

While underscoring that diaspora remittances are among Kenya’s most important sources of foreign exchange, the MPs asked the CS and her Labour counterpart whom the Committee met yesterday, to collaborate closely with the Committee to safeguard the welfare of the Diaspora. They urged the CS to consider sending Labour Attaches in countries with large numbers of Kenyan Migrant workers. 

At the same time, the Committee asked Ministry to organise a forum where MPs can have a conversation with the employment agencies, the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, as well as from the Ministry of Labour and Social Security. 

On his part CS Mutua agreed with the Committee on the need to conduct fresh vetting of the agencies. He assured the Committee that he would liaise with his Labour and Social Security counterpart to have Labour attachés stationed across different parts of the world where majority of Kenyan migrant workers are based. He however cautioned that there is need to vet those who are posted out there as attachés as some have ended up doubling up as agents. 

He told the Committee that his recent efforts of engaging with the governments especially in the gulf countries had paid off, as there are now fewer cases of reportedly distressed Kenyans abroad. He told the MPs that his ministry would propose to not only register all those contracted as migrant workers, but to also isssue a clearance certificate to them before they are allowed to leave the country.

“We are proposing that before a contracted migrant worker leaves the country, we issue them a clearance certificate. This way, we will have data on who has left, where they are based and what they have been hired to do”, the CS noted.

The CS also informed the Committee that there are plans to ensure that those earmarked for engagement as migrant workers go through pre-departure training so as to sensitize them on what to expect once they get engaged. 

The Committee had invited CS Mutua and the Principal Secretary Ms. Roseline Njoki to enlighten the Members on the policies and programs in place for the protection of the welfare of Kenyans in the Diaspora/migrant workers, and to update the legislators on the status and welfare of migrant workers. 

Committee Members present were Hon. Fred Kapondi ( Mt. Elgon), Hon. Charity Kathambi Chepkwony (Njoro), Hon. Donya Dorice (Kisii), Hon. Pamela Njoki Ndung’u -Double N (Embu).