By Wezzie Gausi:
Secretary to the Treasury Betchani Tchereni has indicated that there are no immediate plans to finance establishment of a new department in the Ministry of Labour to solely look into labour exports to Israel.
This is despite authorities in the Ministry indicating that setting up of the Israel labour department is at an advanced stage, stressing a budget for the initiative has already been drafted and sent to the Treasury.
In an interview, Tchereni said there was no money for the initiative.
“The Treasury has no funds for such issues now,” Tchereni said.
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But in a separate interview, Commissioner for Labour Hlalerwayo Nyangulu said this will ease government’s involvement in labour exports to that country.
“The Ministry has the capacity to run the Israel labour exports and all other labour issues. So, we would like to get involved as these issues directly speak to the mandate of the Ministry,” Nyangulu said.
Meanwhile, Chairperson of the Parliamentary Task force on Israel Malawi Labour Export Arrangement, Ulemu Chilapondwa has expressed worry with the slow pace at which the Ministry of Labour is taking to finalize the deals.
“This is an opportunity that the Malawi government should grab and make use of. We have many young people that are ready to go and work but here is a ministry that is thinking of establishing a department instead of signing the Memorandum of Understanding so that the youth should go,” Chilapondwa said.
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Delivering the State of the Nation Address recently, President Lazarus Chakwera said plans are in motion to sign a government-to-government initiative and agreement with Israel, aimed at exporting 100,000 young people to go and work there, which will translate to $6 million a year in remittances.
Finance Minister Simplex Chithyola Banda, last week, said a total of $735,000 has been transferred into Malawi from the Israel Labour Export arrangement.
This represents a $260,000 jump from the $475,000 reported on January 31.
Malawi has about 750 youth working in Israel.
