By Sorie Ibrahim Fofanah
The Ministry of Employment, Labour and Social Security has in a press statement said that the Government of Sierra Leone, through the Ministries of Labor and the Foreign Affairs Ministry, has not signed any bilateral agreement or Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the deployment of migrant workers.
The statement dated 15th August this year, came after a viral social media post purporting that the labour ministry has signed an MOU with the Governments of the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, and Australia for the dispatching of manpower to those countries for recruitment into various jobs, thereby encouraging people to register for the programme.
The ministry in its notice admonished the public to refrain from applying for any job that has the tendency to defraud, exploit and subsequently lead to human trafficking and smuggling.
It also mentioned that Sierra Leoneans should however verify all announcements for job opportunities with the ministry’s officials.
However, the statement assured that the Government through the Ministry of Labor continues to engage with all foreign governments’’ to explore’’ and ‘’secure’’ opportunities for its citizens in a bid to create ‘’500,000 jobs in the next five (5) years.’’
In itsnotice, the ministry stated it has made a lot of gains over the years in ensuring that there is ‘’safe,’’ ‘’orderly’’ and ‘’regular’’ migration for job seekers overseas, adding ‘’which the author of this advert wants to derail.’’
The Labor Ministry urged the public to entreat the said Public Notice as ‘’ FAKE’’ and ‘’MISLEADING.’’
Many Sierra Leonean youth including women have over the years become victims of overseas travelling scams in their quest for better opportunities abroad.
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