By Saio Marrah
The Minister of Labour and Social Security, Alpha Osman Timbo, has said the government of Sierra Leone has lifted the ban on overseas employment so that Sierra Leoneans that have the expertise, capability and qualification to work overseas can do so.
Addressing the media at the weekly press briefing at the Ministry of Information and Communication on Thursday 22nd April, 2021, he said the ban came as a result of reports on both electronic and print media showing how Sierra Leoneans and other African were being maltreated overseas.
“I want to specially recognize the effort that was being made by the Minister of Information and Communication and my colleague Ministers of Labour in putting out strong argument as to why the ban should be lifted. Today, a ban has been lifted and I want to inform members of the public that we are ready to make sure that those Sierra Leoneans who have the expertise, the capability, the qualification to go and work overseas are provided with the opportunity to go and work overseas,” he said.
He said with the lifting of the ban, they will make sure that Sierra Leoneans that will be travelling overseas job get fair treatment, as they have reached an agreement between the government of Sierra Leone and the governments of Qatar and Kuwait.
He said they have also signed an agreement with SOS Labour-Ghana that has 30 years international experience on job opportunities that will be helping in structuring the Sierra Leone Labour market by making sure the people secure jobs.
He said they will be meeting with the local recruiting agencies that have already been issued licenses for them to recruit Sierra Leonean workers internally as well as externally. He said they have assessed those agencies that have been issued with licenses to make sure that they are suitable for the recruitment process and everything has to be digitalized so that all Sierra Leoneans that will be leaving the country under this particular programme, are accounted for.
Rev. Dr Asie Kabuki Ocansey, Chief Executive Officer of SOS Labour-Ghana and a member of the African Union Labour Migration Advisory Committee, said they advise African governments on legal migration and point out that the labour issue in Sierra Leone is synonymous to Ghana and the whole of Africa.
She said they decided to advise African leaders on migration because it is directly related to development. She said when migration is done legally, there will be development but when there is illegal migration, there will be disaster.
She noted that there has been a particular employment system, which she called Kafala. She said Kafala is not even an employment, but a mere slavery or almost slavery. She pointed out that some African governments had even been signing agreement in the said kafala not knowing the nature of the agreement.
She said she has done a research and published a book titled “Deadly work or decent work” which is the SOS Africa Middle East domestic workers migration process. She said the book outlined the different employment systems in the Middle East. She also noted that the book highlights the systems of employment that are very good. She said there are employment systems which the Asians themselves work which have a fair treatment towards workers wherein their passports are not taken away from them. She said they are not sexually harassed and always have a day-off, go for vacations and are sent to their country after two years among other facilities, but said its only few Africans that know about such employment opportunities.
Copyright © 2021 Politico Online 23/04/21
