National Assembly Majority Leader and Kikuyu MP Kimani Ichung’wah has attracted backlash after urging Kenyans to apply for jobs advertised through the National Employment Authority Integrated Management System (NEAIMS).
The website lists jobs including those negotiated for by President William Ruto during his trips to developed nations. For instance, 2,500 nursing opportunities have been listed on the platform.
Kenyans have, however, complained that the portal offers limited options and the platform is not as resourceful as drummed up by politicians.
Expressing their disappointment, Kenyans highlighted that most of the options listed on the website are not quality jobs with current adverts ranging from; housemaids, drivers, babysitters and cleaners, as opposed to what most of them have been led to believe.
“We have heard stories of Kenyans seeking opportunities in some countries where they have historically been mistreated. You are better off farming in Kenya than living a tough life in another country,” one Kenyan commenting online stated.
Further complaining about issues arising from the advertised jobs, members of the public highlighted problems with the website infrastructure, terming it as a poor mockup of the eCitizen platform.
“This website cannot handle a thousand concurrent users. The user interface is poor,” one user stated.
Citing the recent demonstration by medical students at the Ministry of Health offices, a job seeker questioned why the government was yet to fulfil its promises to provide jobs for Kenyans locally.
“Exporting labour, especially in healthcare, is disheartening when local hospitals are under-equipped and short-staffed. Our government should prioritise creating local jobs and improving business conditions instead of participating in labour exportation,” another Kenyan stated.
President William Ruto during the Cabinet Retreat held in Naivasha on Monday lectured the members of parliament, after they admitted to not knowing about the existence of 2500 nursing job opportunities listed on the NEAIMS portal.
“I have heard some of you say you are not aware! Where do you want me to stand to tell you, which volume do you want so that you can hear?” The president posed.
“They were advertised in the press, I have talked about this thing in every meeting. When you are seated those meetings, after that aren’t you supposed to find out where these vacancies are?”
