Government to offer support for Kenyans in Middle East

Kenyans working in the Middle East have been offered a safety net through a programme approved by Cabinet yesterday.

It is expected that the programme will make the safety of the immigrant workers - most of whom have suffered the worst abuses and even torture - a responsibility of the State.

“...the Cabinet approved the Foreign Employment Administration and Labour Migration Management Framework to deal with the increasing importance of diaspora contribution to the economy but more importantly to address the plight of Kenya’s domestic workers in the Middle East,” a brief from the Presidency released last evening said.

This is the first time the State is taking proper steps to cushion Kenyans who are fleeing unemployment at home, only to be abused by their employers in the Middle East.

Tales of rape and other forms of brutality are common among returnees, and this may have prompted Cabinet to develop a legal framework to tackle the abuses.

The proposed framework would come as good news for prospective workers, mostly maids, who may have reconsidered their dreams of working abroad. Previously, the Labour ministry had taken to knee-jerk reactions including banning domestic workers from traveling to the Middle East to find jobs, whenever there was a crisis.

The Cabinet also approved the setting up of a space centre, the equivalent of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) agency.

elite club

That project is expected to propel Kenya to the elite club of the few countries in the world that own earth observation satellites. Top officials involved in the planning phase estimated that the project would cost about Sh10 billion, for a constellation of earth observation satellites.

Such satellites are typically used by the police to enhance a country’s security and provide solutions in the Agriculture and Education sectors.

The Cabinet further approved the development of Dongo Kundu Special Economic Zone in Mombasa as an industrial and commercial hub which is thought to have potential for the creation of many jobs for the youth.