20 recruitment agencies will no longer be allowed to offer services in the country for failing to meet the required threshold for operation.
According to the National Employment Agency (NEA) Director General Edith Okoki, the said companies have been denied operating licenses as part of the strategy aimed at addressing malpráctices in private recruiting agencies.
NEA Director-General made the revelation on Wednesday, September 4, 2024, during a meeting with the Committee on Diaspora Affairs and Migrant Workers chaired by Lydia Haika (Taita Taveta MP).
The MPs convened the meeting after an inspection visit to the private employment agencies domiciled in Mombasa where it was established that the firm operated without a valid license.
Despite not having a valid licence, the agency was listed on the National Employment Authority website and had sent 600 workers to the Middle East, so far, the MPs observed.
“The Authority has taken up the matter for further investigations and incorporated the Kenya Association of Private Employment Agencies (KAPEA) and Coast Disciplinary Committee. The DCI in Mombasa took up the case and an agreement was reached to refund the money to the affected candidates,” DG Okoki informed the Committee.
On spot
During the meeting, the committee members also sought to know what action the Authority had taken on allegations that First Choice Recruitment and Consultancy Ltd- a private recruitment agency based in Uasin Gishu.
They argued that the said firm which had been closed due to malpráctice, was back in operation through a different registered agency Royal Capital Placement.
However, the Director General assured the committee that the matter was sorted and the new agency was closed.
Despite NEA’s assurance, the MPs sitting in the committee vowed to continue scrutinising the sector to ensure Kenyans get deserving jobs abroad.
“We want Kenyans to work abroad, but we also want them to be comfortable while working. We are the p****e to ensure that,” Haika told the NEA team.
This comes days after several Kenyans lamented over losing millions to fake recruitment agencies. The recent cases involved Eldoret residents who were duped by an agency over a promise to link them with jobs in Canada.
The move compelled Uasin Gishu Governor Jonathan Bii to declare an operation in the area over fake recruitment agencies.