Review youth policies to avert Kibera-style riots

Kenya: 15-34 year olds, who form 35 % of the Kenyan population, have the highest unemployment rate of 67%.

 

Over one million young people enter into the labour market annually without any skills, some having either dropped out of school or completed school and not enrolled in any college.

A further 500,000 join the labour market annually after completing some form of training.

A total of over 1.3 million jobs have to be created annually to meet this demand.

The skills acquired by the college graduates, some have argued, often do not meet the expectation of employers.

There is, therefore, an urgent need for the Government to strengthen and scale up measures targeting quality skill development and job creation for our youths.

Young women and men are driving change and claiming respect for fundamental freedoms and rights around the world.

More than ever, it is time to create a rights-based environment where our youth prosper, exercise rights, regain hope and a sense of community, and engage as responsible social actors and innovators.

The most effective way to counter extremist movements, for instance, is to offer young people meaningful ways to make a difference and positively contribute to national development.

A growing body of evidence shows that when faced with violence and conflict, a majority of young people play active and valuable roles as agents of positive and constructive change, yet their participation in peace-building is a largely untapped resource.

Although the government should be praised for the many initiatives it has embarked on to improve the condition of the country’s young population, reviewing the existing National Youth Policy will yield the much-anticipated results.

President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto came to power through a huge support of young people.

This was with a promise of a number of pledges, most of which still remain unrealized.

Among these was the unveiling of the Sh. 6 billion Uwezo Fund, a culmination of the Jubilee Coalition’s pledge of propelling youth and women to the centre of national prosperity.

Speaking during the launch of the Fund in Nairobi on September 8, 2013, President Kenyatta said the Government was not merely disbursing money to the youth but incubating enterprise, adding that his Coalition was catalyzing innovation, promoting industry, employing the youth and growing the economy.

Further to this, the Jubilee Coalition pledged to ensure that the youth are represented in key positions not only in his office, but also in government ministries, departments and agencies.

Sadly, the foregoing is yet to be realized and there are no clear guidelines on how to coordinate the many government interventions on the youth agenda at all levels, significantly compromising outcomes as many have been left to the behest of parent ministries or mother- implementers.

Most county governments have also concentrated on food security through agriculture and have asked youths to venture into the same without necessarily undertaking an assessment of their interest in this sector.

The review of the policy must be guided by an appreciation that there is a lot that needs to be done to exploit the existing opportunities and tackle the main challenges. Undoubtedly, we need a focused policy that can create a solid foundation to genuinely address the needs, aspirations, and concerns of the youth.

Unfortunately, none of the current efforts appreciates the history of the youth in this country.

Coming from a marginalized background, an element of affirmative action is needed if the country is to reverse the existing situation.

The recent Kibera riots are just but a tip of the iceberg, and Government efforts must be seen to graduate from projects that are used to settle political scores, win political milestones and gain numbers, to those that will transform the lives of Kenyan youths for posterity.

The government must move from making populist policy pronouncements to actual policy interventions that will synergize the many youth initiatives for tangible results.

For a start, the Ministry of Devolution and Economic Planning needs to revise Sessional Paper No. 3, the National Youth Policy 2007, and the National Youth Council Act, No. 10 of 2009, last reviewed in 2012.

These should then guide county governments in the formation of their youth policies, where several gaps also exist.

The writer is a governance and policy analyst.  He serves as the Executive Director, County Governance Watch. ([email protected] )