Improve migration governance

The government-initiated emigration of youthful Malawians to Israel is a bittersweet initiative.

It is good because it would reduce the country’s rampant youth unemployment if effectively executed.

It is bad and suspect because the labour export deal is shrouded in secrecy at a time similar initiatives have flopped with torturous impacts on the youth.

Recently, the media was awash with scandals of Malawian migrant workers, especially young women, trapped into sexual exploitation in the Middle East, especially Oman. Yet this emigration was reportedly facilitated by recruitment agencies recognised by the government.

This is not the first time Malawi is exporting labour to create employment for Malawians and boost foreign exchange earnings.

Malawi used to export male workers to South Africa between 1903 and the 1970s.

Many Malawians were recruited to work in the mines under the Witwatersrand Native Labour Association (WNLA), locally known as Wenela, a recruitment arm under the South African Chamber of Mines. WNLA was founded in 1902.

The Malawian migrant workers steadily benefitted through wages and deferred pay, which they recieved upon returning home. The government recieved foreign exchange.

This labour migration contract collapsed in  1987 when South Africa accused Malawian migrant workers of spreading HIV and demanded to start screening them for the virus that causes Aids. Malawi refused this request; hence, the collapse of the recruitment arrangement.

The government tried in vain to revive the employment scheme with the South African Government in the post-1994 period.

After the restoration of democracy in 1993, successive adminstrations have used this as an election’s campaign tool.

One party after another promised voters to reopen Wenela and the Employment Bureau of Africa (Teba), but this never materialised.

While some male workers migrated under State-sanctioned contracts, others, including women, sneaked out clandestinely under self-migration, popularly known as Selufu.

After the mine migrancy, most people emigrated under new Selufu of the post-1990 period.

To combat the country’s massive youth unemployment, there is need for concerted efforts by both government and the private sector, including non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to create income-earning opportunities, including more jobs.

Migration and Society (Maso), an NGO based in Mzuzu, advocates for mindset change not only among the youth, but also the citizenry.

While jobs are scarce, they are merely one of the many income-earning opportunities.

Since Malawi’s economy hinges on agriculture,  with proper guidance and mentorship, many Malawians may be absorbed within the agricultural sector. Not in traditional farming, but in modern farming, instead.

While a few may be recruited to work in farms in places like Israel, unlimited numbers of employable young Malawians may be absorbed in agriculture back home.

Apart from the botched recruitment to the Middle East, there have been a lot of immigration-related challenges in the country.

These include the numerous cases of smuggling and human trafficking. Therefore, the country needs proper policies and best practices to strengthen migration governance or management.

A good example here is the need for awareness raising campaigns in communities with potential migrants.

People need to be oriented so that they know the potential challenges they are bound to meet in the labour export destination.

With this information, they can make informed decisions as to whether it is rational for them to migrate or not.