State urged to involve youth in decision-making

Karen Nyamu. She says young people are systematically excluded from the important arena of decision-making and development processes. (PHOTO: COURTESY)

Efforts to transform Kenya into a middle income country could fail if the Government continues to exclude the youth from critical decision-making processes.

Leaders now say without pro-youth economic policies, Kenya’s growth strategies would remain a mirage. “Yet young people are seldom recognised as a resource in decision-making processes. Instead, they are systematically excluded from important arena of decision-making and development processes. Their perspectives are often absent in policy-making,” Ms Karen Nyamu (pictured), a leader, told a youth meeting at Dandora in Nairobi yesterday. The meeting was themed “The road to 2030: Eradicating poverty and achieving sustainable production and consumption.”

Nyamu, who wants to become Nairobi Women Rep, said to grow, Kenya should empower poor people much like  the Asian tigers. “Youth organisations require support, particularly at national and county levels, in order to strengthen and put forward their ideas for growth and poverty reduction,” Nyamu added.