Kenya has no intention of taking South Sudan jobs – Amina Mohamed

Kenya did not have any intention to take jobs from South Sudanese but was only helping in the transition, Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed has said.

She said that since South Sudan attained independence, the Kenyan government has been working towards developing their manpower to enable them take up jobs that would help the country grow.

“But I must admit that the announcement to ban foreign professionals working in South Sudan caught us by surprise because there was no prior warning of the intended action.

(WATCH: Why Kenya is unhappy with South Sudan)

“The two countries have had a strong working relationship and we would have expected that such a decision of great impact would be communicated to us before it was effected,” she said.

Commenting for the first time on the Tuesday decree by South Sudan to ban expatriates from holding jobs, Ms Mohamed, however, said high-level discussions between the two governments led to the change of tune by Juba government.

She was speaking to journalists at the Strathmore Law School after attending a breakfast meeting organised by law students to discuss issues on land, the validity of title deeds and their impact on financial sector growth.

20,000 KENYANS LIVING IN SOUTH SUDAN

She said according to available records in her ministry, there are more than 20,000 Kenyans living in South Sudan engaged in various activities, including businesses and employment.

The CS said Kenya would continue supporting South Sudan, adding that the programme to train various cadres of workers both by the government and the private sector would make it easier for the transition.

“Kenyan companies involved in banking and insurance have also been involved in training South Sudanese professionals so that they can go back and take up positions in their country,” she said.

Meanwhile, a senior official of Kenya Commercial Bank says their operations in South Sudan would not be affected as the bank has trained locals to man the jobs.

KCB Head of Corporate and Regulatory Affairs Ms Judith Sidi Odhiambo said the bank had in place a successful training programme to empower the local manpower with relevant skills.

Though the bank was still monitoring the situation following the announcement by the South Sudanese government on Tuesday, the bank was well prepared, she said.

“KCB Bank Group has a strong tradition of training all its employees, and as a responsible corporate citizen, we believe in training the local talent so that they can manage the bank’s business at all levels.

“We have invested in training our local employees in South Sudan since 2006 upon establishment at the KCB Leadership Centre in Karen and offer them on job trainings with some of our branches in Kenya,” she said, while responding to questions from the Daily Nation.

She said the bank create employment over the years for South Sudanese and facilitate transfer of knowledge and capacity to the local financial sector in the South Sudan country.

On Tuesday, the South Sudan Government told firms and NGOs to expel foreign workers in positions ranging from executive directors to receptionists by October 15, this year, and hand over their responsibilities to South Sudanese professionals.

South Sudan Minister for Labour Ngor Kolong Ngor said the move was meant to protect the rights and interests of the locals.