Private agencies to recruit for the Saudi programme
By Lamin Cham
The Gambia government has clarified that no private companies have been licensed to recruit workers for the circular migration work programme it signed with Spain and that recruitment would be done only by the Department of Labour at no cost to applicants.
A statement issued Friday also explained that the private companies licensed for recruitments are for the bilateral manpower agreement with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It said an earlier letter issued by the Ministry of Trade joining the recruitment processes of the two agreements was an error.
“The Gambia Government through the Ministry of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration and Employment will be responsible for the pre-selection of candidates in line with Article 3 of the MoU with Spain, and in principle of equal opportunities, free of charge.
Crucially, the public is hereby cautioned that no Private Recruitment Agency is licensed to recruit workers for deployment to the Kingdom of Spain. Therefore, citizens are strongly advised not to engage any private recruitment agency for the purpose of working in the Kingdom of Spain because that would be deceptive and illegal.
Additionally, the selection process and criteria for the Spanish Circular Migration Programme would be communicated to the public in due course by the Ministry of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration and Employment,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, the statement however explained that recruitment for domestic workers under the Bilateral Labor Agreement with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is in progress, and only the following licensed private employment agencies are required to carry out recruitment under the agreement: 1. Outsource Recruitment Agency 2. Mbaye Consultancy Agency 3. Gamjobs Recruitment Agency 4. Tokey Recruitment Agency 5. Cruise Ship The Gambia.
“The public is further advised that there is No Cost attached to the recruitment processes and should not therefore, pay for any fees or charges for this transaction,” the statement concluded.
The Standard has been reliably informed that authorities are concerned about reports of a large number of people complaining to have been charged substantial amount of money as processing fees by certain private companies in connection with the Spain programme.
One aspiring applicant showed this paper a D50,000 receipt he claimed have been paid to a private agency for the Spain programme while others reported even higher amounts.
The minister of trade Baboucar Joof said any entity charging people is doing so outside the law.
