Jubilee keen on youth empowerment

NAIROBI: The Jubilee government got into office with a specific agenda around youth empowerment. This was because the owners of the Jubilee campaign and its largest support base across the country were the Kenyan youth.

Three years later it is becoming clear that the promises made during the campaign were not empty rhetoric. The Jubilee government has also taken cognisance of the fact that Kenya, like most African states, has an expanding population that is dominated by young people. Over 70 per cent of the population is estimated to be young people under 35.

The Government is also motivated by an expanded reading of Chapter 4 on the bill of rights which Jubilee understands as a specific expectation by the Constitution that there is a specific need to focus interest and attention on matters that affect the youth.

The fact that the bill of rights went into force immediately the Constitution was promulgated means that the youth of Kenya immediately had a right to access relevant education and training, have opportunities to associate, be represented and participate in political, social, economic and other spheres of life, access employment and are protected from harmful cultural practices and exploitation.

Jubilee took up the challenge of creating an opportunity for young people especially in politics. To date, Jubilee still has the youngest leadership in any party formation not only in the region, but across the world.

However, Jubilee has also taken other measures since it took over government in 2013. A key project that has advanced the cause of youth empowerment is the World Bank-funded Kenya Youth Empowerment Project (KYEP). KYEP became effective in August 2010, though the first disbursements were made in 2011. According to the World Bank, “The objective of KYEP is to support efforts of the Government of Kenya to increase access to youth-targeted temporary employment programmes and to improve youth employability.”

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KYEP has three components. One is labour-intensive works and social services funded to the tune of $43 million. This project took off to a rough start after being initially handed over to the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) during the Coalition government where it was popularly known as ‘Kazi Kwa Vijana’.

Corruption in OPM led to the collapse of this project after the World Bank flagged transactions totalling Sh33 million. The Daily Nation even published an article titled 'World Bank Cancels Funding Over Kazi Kwa Vijana Graft'.

After the cancellation of that particular aspect of the project, the World Bank reoriented resources to other activities aiming to raise youth employment in Kenya. One component of this was support to the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (Kepsa). The Kenya Private Sector Alliance has ensured that innovations and improvements have been made in each cycle of the project, making it more efficient and improving its output. Kepsa has also ensured young people are trained in core skills under a training and internship program so that the graduates are better prepared for employment.

Jubilee has been fully supportive of this project such that by 2015 the program, which is in its sixth cycle of implementation, has received a total of 25,490 applications for its training programmes out of which 15,977 were found eligible. Over 50 per cent were female applicants.

The Jubilee government has also been committed to the Kenya National Youth Policy. After a directive by the President, the Government has implemented a policy of allocating 30 per cent of all national government contracts to the youth and women. In 2014 and under the Access to Government Procurement Opportunity (AGPOA) programme, women youth and persons with disabilities received Sh1.5 billion in Government business, a clear indication that public institutions are implementing the directive. In 2015, this presidential directive was turned into law under the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act.

Creating an enabling business environment and providing easier business registration processes have been made a reality through the Huduma centres. In addition, Huduma centres now facilitate faster provision of Identification Cards which are a fundamental document for a young person starting out in life. These centres also offer other services that help facilitate creation of youth groups through which young people can access funding available in the National Youth Fund, as well as lobby for contracts.

There is no doubt that youth in Kenya still face numerous challenges, and with an ever-increasing population, it will take several concerted and persistent strategies to meet these challenges. However, given the dynamic progress made under the Jubilee government since 2013, it is clear that the youth in Kenya now have greater opportunities than at any time in Kenya’s history; and it can only get better moving forward. Jubilee has made positive progress in the lives of millions of young people directly and indirectly, and set the pace for future governments.

However this steady progress needed in meeting the challenge of youth unemployment requires that both the national and the county governments continue to go out of their way to actively provide opportunities for young people.

This is a commitment only Jubilee has the credibility to make, amongst all existing political formations contesting for a mandate to be part of Kenya’s leadership.