President William Ruto was recently upset by the ignorance of senior officials in his administration on job opportunities that the government has negotiated abroad. This is rationalised by the thinking that given Kenya’s vast human resource base, it can earn foreign currency, create wealth and transform lives through export of labour.

The Ministry of Labour revealed that Kenya has signed four bilateral labour agreements (BLAs) with the governments of Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom for domestic workers and nurses.

It has also initiated BLAs with 22 countries, out of which five are in Africa. The government has sourced job opportunities particularly in the health, agriculture, construction, hospitality and domestic sectors.

Data shows that Kenya’s earnings from the diaspora have surpassed its traditional revenue streams including tea, coffee and tourism exports.

There is evidence that, if well managed, migration can create decent jobs abroad. The major concern is about protection of human rights, safety and integrity of Kenyan migrant labour.

The story on the mistreatment of Kenyans in the Gulf has been disturbing.  And as has been pointed out repeatedly, the weakness is poor labour migration policies and an incompetent National Employment Authority that has been the breeding ground for rogue agencies. The other major challenge is the ineptitude of our missions in host countries that hardly respond to distress calls from migrant workers.

But the buck stops with the employment authority which is mandated to regulate the sector. The authority is squarely responsible for the proliferation of dubious employment agencies that have not only been demanding money from job seekers but also dumping them at the airport and swiftly cutting links as young women and men head to the Gulf to face cruelty.

It is no secret that the agencies thrive because they belong to well-connected people. Even more importantly, Labour CS Florence Bore must be reminded that signing bilateral labour agreements is not enough. The critical part is to ensure the workers secure the best deals in terms of protection, salaries, dignity and transfer of benefits.

The devil is in the details. Uganda and Rwanda have had to renegotiate their agreements with the Gulf countries. But while at it, the incompetence at the employment agency must be cured. We call President Ruto’s attention in that direction.