Malawi-Israel labour export agreement stalls
Government is yet to open doors for Malawians seeking jobs in Israel almost a month after signing a government-to-government memorandum of understanding (MoU) to aid the processes and avoid exploitation.
Malawian youth seeking jobs in Israel spokesperson Tapson Maganga and Workers for Arava Farmers managing director Justice Kangulu in separate interviews said they have not received any communication from government on the progress of the MoU.
They said government was also yet to brief them on contents of the MoU signed in Israel on April 18 2024.
Kangulu said Israel is currently looking for a lot of workers, especially in the agricultural sector.
He said: “But there has not been any communication from government on the job seekers. We are still waiting to hear from them as earlier committed that they would come back to us with a way forward.
“We have always been ready but as you are aware that government is a stakeholder we work with hand in hand. So, we still need government to clear us and that is why we are still waiting to hear from them.”
Maganga, on the other hand, said they visited Ministry of Labour where officials assured them that government will issue a statement on the matter by today.
He, however, said the desperate youth plan to hold vigils at Capital Hill if government delays to issue the statement.
Said Maganga: “Since the signing of the MoU, government has not communicated anything to us or the [labour export] agents. And, we have not even seen the said MoU.
“We demand that we see the MoU since it is a public document. The government-to-government deal is wasting our time because even the Israeli government made it clear that jobs in that country are being offered by the private sector.”
Minister of Information and Digitisation Moses Kunkuyu, who witnessed the signing of the MoU in Tel Aviv, Israel, said yesterday that he would revert with government’s position on the matter. However, by press time last night, he had not responded.
On the other hand, Ministry of Labour Principal Secretary Chikondano Mussa asked for more time before commenting on the matter.
In April, Minister of Foreign Affairs Nancy Tembo and her Israeli counterpart Israel Katz signed the MoU on behalf of their respective governments in Tel Aviv.
In an interview after the signing, Kunkuyu said since the MoU is in place, the labour exports to Israel would resume within a month.
Since last year, hundreds of Malawians travelled to the Middle East nation as part of a government labour export programme that aims at offering youths employment while ploughing back into the country the scarce foreign exchange.
