Special Report By Bob Ndira-Uradi In Kisumu City.
SUGAR milling companies in Nyanza and Western Provinces have raised complaints alleging that the government through its immigration Ministry is engaged in recklessness of issuing unskilled aliens workers from India and Pakistan with the works permits at the expense f Kenyan worker
Hundreds of unskilled India and Pakistani workers have flooded the sugar factories in the regions, and are engaged in odd jobs such as cane-yard clerks, time-keepers, store-keepers, vehicles mechanics electrical mechanics, boiler-operators, office sweepers, messengers, time-keepers, cooks , welders and penal-beaters, fitters and plant mechanics.
Kenya is not short of these categories of workers after close to 50 years ever since the country attained its political independence in 1963. The country has trained skilled worker n these categories in excess of its labor fore needs.” Said a source a the Awendo-based SonySugar Company.
The CENTRAL Organization of Trade union of Kenya {cotu{k} is silent about this grave situation and appeared to have been compromised.
The outspoken COTU{K} Secretary-General who is also the General Secretary of the Kenya Plantations and Agricultural Workers Union is sleeping on the job and has uttered no word in complaints against this seemingly naked corrupt deals in which some sugar millers are known to be sourcing their worker from foreign sources with impunity against the laws of Kenya that is governing the sourcing f foreign workers.
The sugar mills which are currently flooded by foreign workers included the Ndhiwa based Sukari Industries, kakamega based Butali Sugar Mill, Western Kenya Sugar Company also based in Kakamega district, Kibos Sugar and Allied Industries based at Kibos near Kisumu City, Trans-Mara Sugar Company Limited, which is based in Trans-Mara district within Narok County.
Shortly before he met his untimely death in a helicopter crash in Ngong forest near Nairobi, The Internal Security Assistant Minister Joshua Orwa Ojode whose concerted effort is credited to have been an instrumental tool that yielded in the establishment of the Ndhiwa based Sugar Mills near Oria Market, is said to have warned the management of the Sukari Industry Limited, to remove about half of its Indian and Pakisani workers who are engaged on petty jobs which could be perfectly be performed well by the locals.
The Labor Ministry also stands blamed for not effectively inspecting the job specifications I the Sugar mill with he view o ensure that undesirable aliens were kicked out and their places taken over by local skills.
Unionized workers in the sugar industry tro8gh their union are also contemplating moving to court to have he foreign workers have their illegally and corruptively obtained work permits cancelled.
The workers lad the blames squarely on the MPS representing the sugar growing zones in both Nyanza an Western Provinces for allegedly having compromised and failing to articulate the workers sufferings to the government.
They included the MPs representing Mumias, Muhooni, Nyando, Rono, Uirii, Kiloris,IKOlOMANI, Bunyala, Matungu, and Butere.
Ends
Bob, this is a very serious allegation, and if it is true, it amounts to economic sabotage. The locals have nothing to put on the table while foreigners are busy remitting our hard earned foreign currency through other commodities to their countries.
All jobs from top management can be manned by well trained Kenyans who are available in the job market. If possible Bob, can you list the number of foreigners occupying each category of job in each mill.
Totally Unacceptable and I did see a high population of Somalis in Kisumu , but this is not only sickening but Ministry of Immigration should immediately address this situation.