New Public Service CS plans an Overhaul to the Youth Funds

All substantive chief executive officers of the youth fund will have to be confirmed or appointed before taking office.

Cabinet Secretary to the new Ministry of Public Service Sicily Kariuki said the provision will ensure the youth fund bosses have a strong and stable drive to conduct affairs of the funds and be accountable.

Cabinet Secretary to the new Ministry of Public Service Sicily Kariuki (PHOTO: COURTESY)

"Over the past three years, all the funds have operated under the stewardship of acting CEOs and with a lean staff establishment which hampered smooth operations in the funds," said the CS in her office.

The CS added that some of the funds have been operating with boards which have not been fully constituted and in some cases the key competencies that should be represented in the board have not been aligned to the requirements of the boards: "We will ensure that these boards are appropriately and adequately equipped and constituted to strengthen governance and enhance accountability."

In November, the fund's top management was sent home on a 14 day compulsory leave to pave way for investigations by the banking fraud unit. This was over Sh200 million that had been transferred using fake documents to a local bank allegedly belonging to Quondum Limited.

Although the funds service the same target groups, they operate in different locations at county and sub county levels using separate set of resources yet there is infrastructure and facilities available at county level that are not being fully utilized like the Youth Empowerment Centres.

"These agencies should work together from the same place and space. Sharing of resources and administrative support staff will reduce on human resource expenditures apart from streamlining and hastening operations," said Ms Kariuki.

Ms Kariuki however noted that financial intermediaries charge an interest rate of eight per cent to the beneficiaries despite the Youth and the Women Enterprise Fund disbursing the monies to them at a rate of one percent.

"This has limited the accessibility of the funds and at the same time hampered the repayment programme due to punitive interest rates," noted the CS.Ms Kariuki said the amounts of funds disbursed through financial intermediaries will be terminated in order for the targeted beneficiaries to befit full from the funds.