Azimio La Umoja Coalition leader Raila Odinga on Friday warned that President William Ruto was driving the nation into a wrong turn judging by the concerning incidents witnessed in the country in the recent past.
Speaking at the Catholic University Auditorium in Nairobi, where he led his brigades to celebrate the 60th Jamuhuri Day Celebrations, Raila, on Friday, claimed that the errors that marred the concluded 2023 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) were a cause of worry.
He added that the high taxation and stringent monetary policies enacted by the current regime also indicated that Ruto had lost touch with the common mwananchi.
He further accused the head of state and other senior government officials, whom he did not mention, of exporting educated Kenyans abroad to do menial jobs.
According to the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party leader, such cases of exporting intellectuals abroad for low-grade jobs could plunge the country into a brain drain.
“Young people with knowledge, with new skills, are being exported because the government cannot create jobs and the government sees it as an achievement," Odinga denoted.
According to Raila, it was the responsibility of the government to create jobs in Kenya rather than look for jobs on behalf of unemployed Kenyans in foreign countries.
“Our children are struggling to get farm jobs in Israel, house helps in Saudi Arabia, and security personnel in Qatar and the president is looking for them jobs there, to become hires," the ODM leader said.
“We have a whole President running out there looking for jobs for people here then something is wrong.”
Odinga disclosed that most Kenyans were scrambling to leave the country due to the high cost of living tripled by hiked taxation, unemployment, and harsh and heartless leadership.
"We have not been the confident t nation we have been all the decades, once upon a time, Kenyans were too proud and so confident of their nation that they refused to seek jobs abroad, including in the United Nations," Raila warned.
"Today, our people are scrambling to leave the country. A recent study showed that up to 54 percent of Kenyans would wish to relocate from the country."
On Wednesday, December 6, President Ruto, through the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, announced plans to export casual labourers to work in Israeli agricultural fields.
According to the government, there were about 1,500 opportunities with a guaranteed net income of Ksh228,000 (USD 1500) per month, with 3 years renewable contracts.
