JS body slams embassy officials in Kenya

A parliamentary body today lambasted Bangladesh embassy officials in Kenya for their failure to inform in advance about workers' recent condition in Mauritius.

Meanwhile, the Mauritian government has decided to send back several thousand Bangladeshi workers working mostly in the African nation's readymade garment and textile industries by the end of this year.

The parliamentary standing committee on expatriates' welfare and overseas employment ministry said the failure of the embassy, which is also officially responsible to look after the country's interests in Mauritius as Bangladesh has no mission there, "won't be tolerated".

The committee chief Anisul Islam Mahmud, also a Jatiya Party lawmaker, told reporters at the Jatiya Sangsad Media Centre "Their failure to inform in advance about the recent condition of workers in Mauritius can not be accepted in any way."

"They have to be accountable why they did not provide early information and why they were not alert about the situation," he warned.

"We are acknowledging our failure that we did not receive any information about the recent situation from our mission in Kenya," Anisul said, adding, "It is regrettable."

"We have asked the expatriates' welfare ministry to send a letter to the Bangladesh embassy in Kenya seeking explanations about their failure," the lawmakers told the reporters after its meeting at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban this morning.

Anisul Islam said the committee will send letters to the prime minister and the Election Commission requesting them for taking steps to enrol non-resident Bangladeshis as voters.

The Mauritius authorities however gave no official reason for the decision, but textile companies of the island country said they were asked by the authorities to sack Bangladeshi workers and repatriate them to their homeland, according to a recent report of Africa News, a Port Louis based online newspaper.

About 20,000 foreigners from many countries including China, India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka work in the textile and clothing industries of Mauritius.

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