President William Ruto has expressed concerns after 2,000 Kenyans failed to apply for jobs paying Ksh200,000.
Speaking during the Joint National Executive Retreat and Parliamentary Group consultative meeting, Naivasha, Nakuru on Monday, February 19, Ruto revealed that only 500 Kenyans had applied for nursing jobs recently advised by the Ministry of Labour.
The Head of State indicated that the government had advertised for 2,500 positions with some attracting up to Ksh200,000 monthly salary. He however wondered why most Kenyans had not applied for the opportunities.
Following the low turnout, President Ruto directed United Democratic Alliance (UDA) lawmakers to inform their constituents and help the government link Kenyans to jobs abroad.
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"An intelligent person will leave here and go what they must do. You have constituents who will take a lot of offence if they discover that there are opportunities and nobody has come for them," Ruto stated.
"That is not enough, we have a half million of such opportunities. I am trying to set up a system to support in making sure you have as much information as possible because I have negotiated for many opportunities for Kenyans. I am almost completing an agreement with the German government because they have asked for 200,000 Kenyans in various job opportunities."
"I thought we have so many people looking for jobs in our offices, let us work together and connect them to the opportunities. Please take what I'm telling you seriously. This is not politics. Any serious leader will take what I'm about seriously," Ruto insisted.
However, the leaders asked President Ruto to divide the job opportunities per county. The President quickly dismissed the proposal, asking them to inform the people to apply for the jobs through the right channel.
Ruto directed them to help them with the application processes and other documents required.
The over 2,500 Kenyans were needed to fill different nursing positions in Saudi Arabia. The offer included a monthly pay of Ksh200,000, a house and other allowances.