Aukot Questions Ruto’s Policy Of Sending Over 3,000 Kenyans Abroad Weekly
Ekuru Aukot, leader of the Thirdway Alliance Party, has criticized the initiative of President William Ruto to dispatch Kenyans in search of employment opportunities overseas.
Aukot criticized the policy in a series of tweets published on Sunday, arguing that sending young people abroad to work in low-skilled occupations could trap them in a cycle of low-paying labor without allowing them to acquire valuable skills.
As per his assessment, the delegation of Kenyans to low-skilled labor overseas, including housekeeping and refuse collection, would impede their progress in developing necessary abilities and may even result in burnout before reaching the age of 40.
“How is Kenya going to develop by sending the country’s youth abroad to work as house girls/boys and garbage collectors? That’s placing them in a low-income trap where they will never gain any useful skills, then come back with burnout before they turn 40. This is creating a nation of hustlers indeed,” stated Aukot.
The head of Thirdway Alliance also expressed concerns regarding the sanctity of the work that Kenyans would be performing overseas, stating that dispatching a quarter of the annual labor force to perform low-paying, unskilled labor could jeopardize the nation’s honor and prosperity.
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“He is targeting to send 260,000 Kenyans a year, or a quarter of the 1 million joining the labor force every year. As a long-term policy, that means sending a quarter of a generation to do underpaid menial jobs that people in the host countries consider below their dignity. Quite a way to build a proud and prosperous nation!” he added.
On November 19, President Ruto defended the initiative during a church service in Sotik, Bomet County, stating that he and Labour Cabinet Secretary Florence Bore were negotiating bilateral labor agreements for the export of Kenyan labor.
“Together with Bore, we are signing bilateral labor agreements to export Kenyan labor. Every week, we want an export of about 3,000 to 5,000 people to provide labor all over the world so that they can bring us money to transform this country,” President Ruto said.
Additionally, the Head of State emphasized that youth employment is the key to reducing the escalating cost of living and vowed to maintain efforts to negotiate labor agreements overseas.
Aukot Questions Ruto’s Policy Of Sending Over 3,000 Kenyans Abroad Weekly