Changamwe MP Omar Mwinyi has urged the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) to re-introduce the white card employment system at the Port of Mombasa.
The move is aimed at addressing the issue of unemployment in Mombasa County.
Mwinyi said KPA should consider reintroducing the system which was abolished many years ago.
Mwinyi said the white cards which refer to casual labourers employed at the port will give opportunities to thousands of youth in the region who are idle.
“We are calling on the new Kenya Ports Authority managing director Catherine Mturi to re-introduce the system,” said Mwinyi.
“We believe that the system will go a long way in addressing the shortage of jobs especially among the youth in the county, as more youth and women are likely to be employed as opposed to the current system which only focuses on permanent engagement,” added the MP.
In the white card employment system, workers are engaged on temporary basis and paid wages per day or hours worked.
According to Mwinyi who was speaking in Mombasa, lack of job opportunities has denied many young people an opportunity to better their lives.
The MP said majority of youth in the county have resorted to crime due to lack of jobs.
“The young people in the region are idle and that is why they can easily be swayed by criminal elements, a move that has resulted in increase in insecurity,” he added.