Kenyans abroad eye county, national public jobs

Kenyans abroad plan to establish a skills database for soliciting the national and county government jobs.

Kenya Diaspora Alliance (KDA) chairman Shem Ochuodho said 2,000 professionals had uploaded their resumes. The lobby aims to increase the number to 10,000 professionals next year, which will act as a basis for pitching for various vacancies in the public service.

“In the last one year, diaspora Kenyans sent home Sh300 billion being the second-highest foreign income earner after tea. We have professional skills and experience earned abroad that could benefit our country economically,” he said.

Speaking on the concluded 2019 diaspora convention, Dr Ochuodho said Kenyans working in various sectors across the world had expressed their wish to return home to share their skills.

He said the appointment of Mwende Mwinzi as Kenya’s ambassador nominee to South Korea was a welcome gesture for the diaspora community, which understands both worlds giving them the capability to safeguard Kenya’s interests abroad, once appointed to various public roles.

KDA advisory board member and former Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya Vice-Chairperson Rosemary Gituma said tapping the diaspora would benefit the public sector entities from readily-available skills, saving Kenya the cost of training such expertise.

The convention, whose participants were drawn from the diaspora, local chief executives, top State officials and business owners, reiterated the need for a fully-fledged diaspora department to help vet local companies seeking to offer Kenya abroad services and products, curbing incidents in which briefcase companies con the diaspora.

“We are in close talks with the Capital Markets Authority, Nairobi Securities Exchange and Central Bank of Kenya towards the introduction of more financial products that the diaspora can invest in such as green bonds and unit trusts, among others,” said Dr Ochuodho.

Kenya Diaspora Investment Club Chairman Paul Gitonga said KDA would also facilitate business talks between foreign investors and local small and medium enterprises to attract more capital to Kenya.

The lobby is currently holding talks with US-based Africa Diaspora Business Community, which expressed interest in investing in solar farms, waste management and in agribusiness, especially on the provision of cold storage facilities.