It's corruption that is stealing millions of young people's jobs

A photo of gloves indicating fight against corruption. [Patrick Vidija, Standard]

Unemployment in Kenya is a persistent issue, and it is disheartening to note that much of it has been artificially generated and sustained over the years. Corruption plays a significant role in this, diverting resources that could otherwise be used to create jobs and improve the lives of many Kenyans. The amount of money lost to corruption is mind-boggling when broken down into actual value. For instance, with the current civil service workforce at about 700,000, this number could be tripled without any borrowing if we resolutely stopped adoring ill-gotten wealth.

Let's begin with a basic example. Teacher interns in Kenya are paid a gross salary of about Sh30,000. With Sh1 billion stolen by an individual, we could pay approximately 33,333 teacher interns for one month. Over a year, this would support about 2,778 interns. Demonstrating the worth of Sh1 billion further, consider employees earning a gross salary of Sh50,000 per month. With Sh1 billion, we could pay 20,000 employees for one month. Over a year, this could support 1,667 employees. For employees earning a gross salary of Sh200,000, stolen Sh1 billion could pay 5,000 employees for one month. Over a year, this could support approximately 417 employees.