Karua faults Ruto's proposal on foreign jobs for Kenyans

NARC-Kenya Party Leader Martha Karua has faulted President William Ruto's proposal that Kenyans should move abroad in search of jobs since the country still needs professionals in key sectors.

According to Karua, what the country currently requires is setting up a conducive environment for professionals.

Speaking during the Globalisation Conference on a new concept for sharing skills and labour between the Global North and South in Nairobi, Karua said that Ruto’s idea of seeking job opportunities for professionals was not good for the economy.

 "What we need is a government that values its people since at the moment we do not have enough nurses, teachers and other professionals in the country with those trained not employed. How can we talk about exporting our potential labour force without satisfying our local market,” stated Karua.

Karua said that what should be encouraged is a virtual exchange where professionals can offer their services without necessarily moving out of the country.

She told the conference that good governance is key to any country’s development and protection against cyberspace exploitation for virtual jobs is paramount to reducing the hopelessness and lack of jobs among citizens.

"More than 70,000 Kenyans have lost jobs in the formal sector. Kenyans need to learn that exercising their right to vote wisely will have a long-term effect in determining whether the country will have good governance or not. There is a lot to do to improve things in the country,” said Karua.

Public Service Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria urged Kenyans to position themselves to benefit from thousands of job opportunities in Germany and Britain.

"Germany and Britain have an avenue for thousands of our youths to get jobs in various sectors which will go a long way in sorting out the problems of lack of jobs for our youth who are ready to enter the job market every year after completing their studies,” said Kuria.

According to the chairman of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, Prof Karl Heinz Paque, outsourcing work from the global north via digital networks can create attractive jobs in the global south.

“Cross-border digital business process outsourcing is a real win-win model, the workers can stay in their home country, they pay taxes there and their income helps the local economy, at the same time, it helps German and European companies, which are increasingly suffering from a shortage of skilled workers, without having to integrate hundreds of thousands of people into our society,” said Prof Paque.

enyarangi@standardmedia.co.ke