Speaker of the National Assembly, Moses Wetangula, dismissed solutions offered by the Labour and Social Protection Cabinet Secretary nominee, Florence Bore, towards solving the plight of Kenyans in Saudi Arabia.
Appearing before the Committee on Appointments on Saturday, October 22, Bore noted no parent can send a child to the Gulf to come back in a coffin.
She vowed to get to the bottom of this issue, stating, "I will immediately engage with my counterparts in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and other countries within the gulf region, to improve the welfare of Kenyan migrant workers."
Bore also lamented that some Kenyans go to Arab countries without proper training, an issue she vowed to solve with mandatory pre-domestic training.
However, the speaker was unimpressed by the explanation noting the issue required more than condemnation and public declarations.
"This problem we have now should not be rushed through condemnation or roadside statement if we confirm you.
"You need to coordinate a collective team of relevant government agencies and have bilateral discussions," he added.
Wetangula further added that the diaspora contributed more to the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) than any other venture.
His remarks were backed by Suna East MP Junet Mohamed, who noted it would be impractical to halt the employment of Kenyans in the Gulf.
Wetangula further asked Bore to follow the hands-on approach suggested by the Foreign Affairs CS nominee Alfred Mutua.
"Your counterpart in foreign affairs vowed to board a flight to the Gulf a day after the committee confirmed him," Wetangula said.
His deputy, Gladys Shollei, added that Bore needed a pragmatic approach to ending the plight of Kenyans in the gulf.
"The issue being discussed is many Kenyans who go to Saudi Arabia come back dead, but the same is not seen when the Arabs come to Kenya.
"It doesn't matter how many officials we send to the Gulf it will not solve the problem," Shollei explained.
