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End Kenyans’ ordeal in foreign jobs scam
The country’s unemployment rate that has already hit the five-million mark is a source of sheer agony for many, but it has also become a cash cow for crooked officials and some private individuals. The joblessness, especially among youth, poses a major problem for many families.
A good number of the jobless people have employable skills and experience, but cannot find any openings. The unemployment rate in the youth demographic, those aged between 18 and 35, and which comprises 75 per cent of the population, is said to have risen to 67 per cent.
However, there are crooks dangling non-existent foreign jobs to squeeze money out of desperate Kenyans. Many use up their families’ hard-earned savings, sell land and properties or take loans to sign up for overseas job offers only to end up getting ripped off. Others travel abroad and are thrust into neo-slavery, suffering brutality from callous employers.
It is even getting worse with the government’s entry spreading the racket through what has become an overseas jobs scam. Millions of shillings have been lost, leaving in their wake heart-wrenching tales by some really desperate Kenyans.
Some of them have narrated to the Senate Labour Committee their sad tales on the failed promises for jobs in the Middle East by their own government. They had paid between Sh15,000 and Sh55,000 for the non-existent overseas jobs.
They have become victims of the much-publicised initiative launched by President William Ruto’s administration, under the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection. Its target was to create a million jobs annually to help combat the high unemployment rate.
The dreams of a better future for the families of those seeking foreign jobs have turned into nightmares, threatening to break them up. Six months after some coughed up the money, they have not yet received any feedback on their lucrative foreign job offers.
The government should introduce strict controls and also streamline its own foreign jobs initiative to stop taking desperate Kenyans for a ride.
