THE Ministry of labour has criticised Foreign Affairs assistant minister Richard Onyonka's statement in Parliament  accusing the ministry of frustrating the latter’s efforts to register recruitment companies to hire people overseas. Onyonka told parliament last week that the labour ministry was making it “impossible” for the Foreign Affairs ministry to register companies to recruit people to work in foreign countries. “The new constitution schedule IV and XI of the Employment Act vests the power of vetting employment agencies in the Ministry of Labour to avoid insincere employment agencies,” said a statement from the Labour Ministry signed by the assistant director of information Tom Namasaka.

Cases of abuse of Kenyan workers in Middle Eastern countries like Saudi Arabia have put the Ministry of Labour on high alert over unscrupulous employment agencies recently. The ministry noted that for employment agencies to be registered they will have to be vetted by the National Labour Board and the relevant local security agencies. Additionally, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Labour Beatrice Kituyi has requested security agencies to work closely with her ministry to ensure that Kenyans are not hoodwinked by the mushrooming brief case employment agencies.