Focus on rehabilitation of Gulf returnees: Joseph

Rural Development and Non-Resident Keralites' Affairs (NoRKA) Minister K.C. Joseph has said that the government will focus on rehabilitation of Gulf returnees as jobs for immigrants in the Gulf countries are shrinking owing to drives there to recruit native people and internal unrest in some Arab countries.

Inaugurating a NoRKA-Roots Cell set up at the Collectorate Annexe here on Friday, Mr. Joseph said the cell here was the first to be opened among the six proposed in different parts of the State.

Easy attestation

Mr. Joseph said the NoRKA-Roots Cell here would allow job aspirants to get their documents attested without delay.

He said the government was taking keen interest in the welfare of non-resident Keralites. Despite the efforts of the Overseas Affairs Ministry at the Centre and NoRKA to free job aspirants from the clutches of fraudulent recruitment agencies, incidents of cheating and fraud were being reported.

Initiatives by government agencies, including media campaigns, to create awareness among the public against cheating by recruiting agents were not very effective as the job aspirants continued to fall prey to the fraudulent agencies. The government's wish was that that there should be no such exploitation.

‘Key role'

He said the non-resident Keralites had played a key role in sustaining the economic foundation of the State. Remittances from them were a major source of revenue for the State. The situation in the Gulf and Arab countries had started affecting the employment opportunities there for immigrants. Many of those countries were encouraging recruitment of local people to replace the immigrants. Moreover, social unrest in some of them had hit the job opportunities there, he added.

In the contemporary scenario, the government should give special attention to the rehabilitation of the people returning from these countries. The Planning Board had taken the initiative to devise projects for their rehabilitation, he said.

Efforts were under way to open a Passport Office sub-centre here, he added.

A.P. Abdullakutty, MLA, presided over the function. NoRKA-Roots Director and Chief Executive Office Noyal Thomas, District Collector Anand Singh, district panchayat president K.A. Sarala, and municipal vice-chairman C. Sameer were present at the function.