Nearly a week after Kenya said it would send 1,500 farm workers to Israel,President Ruto has reached an agreement to send thousands of workers to Saudi Arabia.
The deal includes 2,500 workers
– mainly nurses and other skilled workers planned for the first deployment.
“Previously, we only sent domestic workers, but now we can export skilled labour to Saudi Arabia and other countries,” President Ruto said on Friday, adding that each worker will be paid Ksh 200,000 ($1,300) monthly.
In November, President Ruto was in Saudi Arabia for the inaugural Saudi-African Summit.
President Ruto also travelled to Germany to negotiate for 200,000 jobs for Kenyans. Kenya’s labour ministry announced that the 1,500 farm workers drafted to Israel will earn “a guaranteed net (monthly) income” of $1,500.
Ruto who has been on a concerted drive for employment opportunities for Kenyans says his countrymen are globally renowned for their hard work.
Ruto wants more Kenyans to find work abroad to ease the country’s unemployment crisis and fetch more foreign remittances.
This, in order to boost the country’s dwindling foreign exchange reserves, which has significantly weakened the Kenyan shilling in recent months.
