Six Ways President William Ruto Plans to solve unemployment

President William Ruto. [File, Standard]

President William Ruto has outlined six ways his government is planning to solve the unemployment issue in the country.

He made these sentiments during this year's Labor Day celebrations held at Uhuru Gardens, Nairobi.

In his address, Ruto put emphasis on agriculture, the promotion of exports, loans to boost SMEs, digital jobs as well as Housing.

The president says to improve agricultural activities in the country, the government had set aside Sh3 billion to build a market in each constituency. This, he says is a way to enable farmers to sell their produce without brokers and middlemen.

He has also agreed with County Governments on agricultural aggregation industrial parks per county at a cost of Sh5 billion.

Additionally, he has also pledged to promote exports to enable farmers to export farm produce.

As a way of boosting SMEs and enabling them to expand, Ruto says the Ministry of Cooperatives will roll out a program that gives loans to small businesses. They will be allowed to get Sh10, 000 up to Sh200, 000.

"We want to allow these small businesses and allow them access credit without security requirements. To get a loan, their borrowing record will be the collateral for our small traders," President Ruto says.

He also wants to create digital jobs for young people. The president also says each TVET institution in the country will be equipped with computers.

"This will happen after the upcoming Budget and we shall plan with each MP to have digital hubs in each ward," he adds.

The president also suggests the export of labor as a way of ensuring Kenyans get jobs to sustain themselves.

"I encourage Kenyans to get employed anywhere in the world. We have plans to get employment in Germany, Canada, America, UAE, and Saudi Arabia. We will sign 10 bilateral agreements in the next few weeks to create employment,"

While urging Kenyans to apply for jobs abroad, the president said that Labor exports earn Sh400 billion annually, which is more than what the country makes from Tea exports.

Lastly, Ruto plans to build 200, 000 houses annually, which he argues will create employment for over one million youths as plumbers, carpenters, masons, and others.

"We have no houses. Over 6.5 million Kenyans live in informal settlement areas and we want to create employment here. Already there are 40, 000 houses in Nairobi, and we plan to start another 30, 000 in Makongeni. Our goal is 100 houses in each constituency,"