Sh76b youth skills, jobs project must not fail

Government may actually be right. There is a youth revolution fermenting slowly, but not the type they feared from US Ambassador Michael Ranneberger. And the beauty of it is that the Government is squarely in the middle of it.

Government and the World Bank are targeting Kenyans aged between 18 and 35 years with a staggering Sh76 billion carrot to empower youth acquire skills in readiness for job opportunities.

The first phase for 1,350 beneficiaries of the groundbreaking partnership between Kenya Private Sector Alliance (Kepsa), Kazi Kwa Vijana and newly launched Kenya Youth Empowerment Programme (KYEP) is under way.

Beneficiaries will be attached to various companies for a six-month period, gathering hands-on work experience in the formal and informal sector through the five growth sectors defined by Vision 2030.

Kepsa and the Ministry of Youth — one of the KYEP implementing ministries, have the unenviable task of identifying applicants for the available positions that will be made public through print and electronic media. ‘Unenviable’ because of the expected deluge of applicants.

This refreshing poverty-buster scheme pilots in Nairobi and Mombasa, but will seek to address extreme poverty in nine of the 47 counties identified in the Kenya Democratic and Health Survey 2005/2006 report.

Key pledge

The nine are in Kakamega, Migori, Wajir, Machakos, Kiambu, Mombasa and Nairobi get the initial Sh6 billion from the World Bank.

A key pledge of this administration has been employment creation and this initiative, no doubt, will go a long way in backing the development train up this alley.

It is yet another calendar year ending and time for appraisal and report card ahead of the 2011 national budget and general election campaign period ahead.

This Kazi Kwa Vijana initiative will cover many blushes in the coming year.