Diaspora remittances from Kenyan nationals who live and work abroad have sharply increased from 4. 2 billion US dollars two years ago to 5. 3 billion US dollars currently, the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection revealed.
The Principal Secretary in the State Department for Labour Shadrack Mwadime said the $1. 1 billion increase was due to the government’s labour mobility policies, which have changed the face of employment opportunities abroad for Kenyan workers.
He pointed out that the remittances at the moment form only a small fraction (five per cent) of the total savings accumulated by Kenyans working overseas, implying that there is huge room for growth.
PS Mwadime mentioned that besides programmes like NYOTA and labour mobility, the government is actively working on opening up job opportunities within the country so that graduates will be able to find jobs immediately after finishing school.
PS Mwadime meet Ambassador Lucy Kiruthu, Kenya’s Ambassador-designate to Thailand where they agreed to work together to improve the protection of Kenyans in Thailand. They also agreed to intensify their bilateral cooperation on labour mobility and skills development for mutual benefit.
However, they discussed on regulated labour migration, skills exchange programmes, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) collaboration, and the promotion of ethical recruitment frameworks. The measures are designed to offer safe, respectful, and mutually beneficial employment opportunities to Kenyans who wish to work in Thailand as well as in the wider Southeast Asia region.
According to Ambassador Kiruthu, a Kenya Thailand labour and skills partnership that was proposed could be a perfect example of shared economic growth and people, centred development, at the same time, the rights and welfare of Kenyan workers overseas will be well protected.
The government is of the opinion that increased labour mobility along with domestic job creation measures will be the main drivers that will keep on strengthening household incomes, increasing the inflow of foreign exchange, and supporting Kenyas overall economic development agenda.