Malawi govt asks relatives to pay for air tickets of 12 girls stranded in Kuwait

Government has asked relatives of 12 girls taken out of abusing work places in Kuwait to pay for their air tickets back to Malawi, saying the government has no money.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Francis Kasaila said the government is too broke to bring the 12 girls back to Malawi.

“If their relatives don’t come forward with the air tickets, the girls will stay much longer in Kuwait. We have taken the girls out of their abusing places and are now with our Kuwait embassy. As an embassy, we do not get funding to fly such kind of people,” said Kasaira.

Kuwait embassy officials confirmed the 12 girls are now with the embassy after they were rescued from prostitution and other abusing domestic jobs in the country.

Kasaira said relatives of the girls, whom he refused to name, must pay for the air tickets of the girls.

“As government we do not budget for such exercises,” he said, adding the government helps out those in South Africa because the costs are affordable.

Most of the girls stranded in Kuwait were used as prostitutes and their passports were confiscated.

Job Centre Limited managing director Trevor Kandoje said the government needs to regulate the job recruitment agencies.