Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua has called on Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) to adapt international best practices while dealing with guests at the airport.
CS Mutua made these remarks while responding to complaints by Kenyans living in Sydney, Australia who decried harassment at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
“They complained of harassment at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport where gifts for their families are confiscated on arrival.
I agreed with them that this is an area that KRA will have to change and adapt to international best practices for arriving guests,” the CS stated.
The CS who is in Sydney, Australia reported that he held a lengthy meeting with Kenyans living in the country as part of his diaspora engagements.
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“We discussed consular services and my goal in the near future for IDs and passports to be printed at our embassies and issued chap chap to deserving Kenyans,” CS Mutua stated.
Plans for Bilateral Agreements
Further, the CS discussed plans for bilateral labor agreement and negotiations with Australia as part of efforts to allow Kenyans work as seasonal workers in the foreign country.
“This coming week, I will be engaging senior Australian officials to discuss how to better partner with Australia for the mutual benefit of both countries. Kazi ni bidii Mbele iko Sawa,” CS Mutua said.
Also, the Foreign Affairs CS noted that they looked into the challenges Kenyans face in getting visas, nursing permits and how to transmit funds back home.
CS Mutua shared his strategy to have the government hire Kenyans residing in countries Kenya has missions to work for the government to reduce the cost of running missions, instead of exporting staff from Nairobi.
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The CS was speaking in Sydney at a function organized and moderated by the Kenyan High Commission in Australia.
While lauding the good work by the State department of diaspora, the CS briefly shared the Kenya Kwanza administration agenda noting that President Ruto’s policies have started bearing fruits.
“I gave them a synopsis of the Kenya Kwanza agenda and the situation in Kenya and the brilliant policies of President William Ruto which have started to bear fruits,” he added.