Youth and Society (YAS), a non-governmental organisation (NGO), has unveiled plans to expedite the labour export deal the Malawi Government agreed with Israel last year.
In a letter addressed to President Lazarus Chakwera dated November 13 2024, YAS executive director Charles Kajoloweka indicated that the plan includes the immediate dispatch of youths who were pre-approved by government agreed with the Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs Simplex Chithyola-Banda.
Reads the letter in part: “This dispatch should be prioritised as an immediate action to alleviate the youth’s current hardship and to demonstrate government’s genuine commitment to fulfilling its promises.”
The NGO urges the government to prioritise transparent communication to provide regular updates, decentralise key recruitment requirements for accessibility and hold orientation and pre-departure information programme for selected individuals.
A representative of the job seekers in Lilongwe, Tapson Maganga, said in an interview that the delays have harmed the recruits both financially and mentally.
He said: “As you know, some of the recruits closed their businesses to raise money for the health checks and police reports.
“Others quit their jobs because the Israel jobs seemed like a sure thing at the time.”
Economics Association of Malawi acting president Bertha Bangara-Chikadza, in an interview on Friday, acknowledged that the differences in wages entice people to travel to Israel where the pay is competitive.
