Khalwale faults state's bid to secure overseas jobs for youth

Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale has criticized the government's decision to secure jobs abroad for youths.

Speaking in Kakamega town during the training of youth across the county on available job and business opportunities in the country under the Kenya 20X Entrepreneur Organisation, Dr Khalwale said it is a shame for the government to export labor to countries with a small economy and population, instead of making Kenya an economic hub.

“It is a shame that a country of 57 to 60 million people would want to take its youth to Singapore or Finland, which has a population of a few people to go and look for business opportunities in the said countries,” said Khalwale.

The Senator who is the Majority Whip in the Senate, urged the government to focus on offering services to the people by capitalising on its ever-growing population.

“Opportunity is in services and goods, services are offered to people and the more people you have, the more opportunities you have to offer services, the more people you have, the more goods you sell to the people,” said Khalwale.

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“We have a pool of almost 60 million people; we should be the ones creating more opportunities so that we become attractive to smaller countries to come and participate in the Kenyan economy, and that is my own understanding of growing job opportunities for our young people. Some youths get the opportunity to go and work abroad for a well-paying job, but we must create opportunities at home,” he added.

The senator urged students of Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology and Sigalagala National Polytechnic to be innovative and aggressive and use the available opportunities to start a business.

He challenged Kakamega county government to provide an enabling environment for youth to start and grow businesses.

Eunice Mburu, the CEO of 20X Entrepreneur, said the Chanuka Jipange na Business Opportunities initiative aims to educate youths and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises on business opportunities in the private sector, especially following the Gen-Z protests in June 2024.

“We have a lot of job opportunities in Kenya that our youths and small business entrepreneurs who want to grow their business, and we need to educate them on the available job opportunities rather than yearning only for foreign jobs,” said Mburu.

The government secured 200,000 foreign job opportunities for citizens since June 2024.

Labour Principal Secretary Shadrack Mwadime said the initiative is part of a broader strategy aimed at creating one million jobs annually to combat the rising unemployment rate, which currently affects over 5 million Kenyans.

Speaking at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, where he flagged off 20 youths set to work as taxi drivers in Abu Dhabi, Mwadime emphasized the government's commitment to expanding job opportunities for the youth. 

“We are told that there are 5 million young people who are out there without jobs, and our objective is to access as many opportunities as possible,” he stated.

The Principal Secretary insisted that the export of labor not only provides employment but also facilitates the transfer of technology and economic growth back to Kenya.