President William Ruto on Saturday pledged to clean up the labour export agencies to ensure cases of human trafficking are cut out of those going to work abroad.
In the first elaboration of the obligations granted to Kenya, after it signed a labour export deal with Germany, Ruto said adequate measures will be in place to ensure only qualified people travel, while also safeguarding against brain drain.
In one of the meetings, he spoke of making better environment for investors to “to exploit existing opportunities in our country.”
Ruto had on Friday, at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, indicated he will block illegal migrants trying to take advantage of the bilateral deal.
“This agreement gives us an opportunity to avoid illegal immigrants because illegal immigrants give us a problem to both Kenya and to Germany,” he said.
Illegal migration has been a political problem in Germany and some political movements on Friday expressed reservations of the Kenya-Germany Comprehensive Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreement (some German dispatches labelled it as ‘MoU’ for a pilot project on job placements), which seeks to plug some holes left by retiring ageing German workforce.
Part of the deal will ensure illegal Kenyans in Germany are returned to Nairobi and Kenya will ensure they don’t sneak back. And Kenya is eying diaspora remittances from these people.
“The establishment of a state department to respond to specific issues of Kenyans abroad, and engaging the diaspora community by leveraging their strengths for Kenya's benefit is a clear indication that we appreciate the role they play in nation building,” Ruto had told Kenyans living in Germany on Saturday.
Germany had been one of the most accommodative western Europeans to migrants but has struggled to tame the irregular flow.
Some 92,119 individuals illegally entered Germany between January and September of 2023, according to official figures.
Others entered legally but overstayed. There is a group that entered legally, then applied for asylum which was denied but then vanished into the country to dodge deportation.
But for Kenya, cases of those getting duped by labour agencies to other countries only to get stranded have been on the rise, especially in the Gulf countries. His warning suggests the very agencies may also try their luck in the new deal.
“We want to make sure that this is seamless. We want to avoid unlicensed people from operating in this space,” said Ruto on Saturday, at a Speaking in a Round Table on Labour Mobility in Berlin, Germany.
“The ministry of labour through (CS Dr) Alfred Mutua has clear instructions from the government of Kenya is not to have any recruiting agent that is not licensed. Those that are not doing the right doing know the consequences. We want to ensure that the process is corruption free and that it benefits the people that we are targeting,” Dr Ruto said.
In the past, government promises to wed out rogue agencies amounted to little as some of the firms had direct influence in the ministries.
During the roundtable, Kenyans working in Germany expressed challenges such as language barrier and the different standards on education in both countries.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the deal will only allow the qualified workers but “without a right to remain.”
"We want to consistently enforce the repatriation of people without the right to remain. On the other hand, we want to attract qualified workers, which we urgently need." Mr Scholz posted on X platform.
Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga called upon authorities from both countries to work together and harmonise standards of education.
“We have our own bodies such as the Kenya Bureau of Standards which can work with other bodies here in Germany to harmonise the standards in both countries. This will make it easier for the people who are coming from the Kenyan system to the German system to adopt easily,” Mr Odinga said during the roundtable meeting.
Both countries signed a Kenya-Germany Comprehensive Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreement to formalise the cooperation and agreement between both countries.
The program is expected to provide a framework for cooperation and information exchange on labour mobility, apprenticeship, student training, labour market needs, employment and welfare of workers, readmission, and return.
The deal is expected to provide opportunities for at least 250 professional, skilled and semi-skilled Kenyan nationals in fields such as information technology and engineering, to work in Germany, helping the European country meet its needs in the necessary sectors and address an ageing workforce problem.
The President also held talks with Martina Biele, Volkswagen South Africa Group, Managing Director and Chairperson and Ndulela Canca, Volkswagen Group Africa, Head of Strategy, in Berlin, Germany where he said they “agreed to work on a joint strategy to establish manufacturing factory in Kenya.”
