Budget: NYS, police and teachers dominate Ruto 430,000 jobs plan

President William Ruto’s administration plans to recruit 30,000 police officers in the next three financial years starting this July.

Overall, the Kenya Kwanza administration has budgeted for 430,000 jobs in various sectors, including teachers, in the spending period.

The government, Treasury disclosures show, has budgeted for police, teacher and prison warder jobs as well as internships.

National Youth Service jobs account for the highest at 220,000 openings, followed by teachers at 120,000. Of the NYS jobs, at least 40,000 youth are set to be taken on board in the next financial year and 80,000 in the subsequent year.

Ruto team seeks to enlist 100,000 youth in the service under the 2027- 28 spending year.

“All will be deployed to the national service,” the budget documents reads.

Last February, Ruto directed that the annual youth intake in NYS be gradually increased to 100,000 by 2028.

According to sector reports filed with the National Treasury, which inform the budget, at least 10,000 police officers will be recruited in the financial year starting July 1.

Another set of 10,000 is planned for in the subsequent year and 10,000 in the third year of the medium-term spending framework.

Police jobs were cancelled in the current budget after the collapse of the Finance Bill, 2024, following protests.

It was the third year in a row since the last recruitment of police took place in the latter days of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s era.

There were no listings in the financial year 2022-23 and in 2023-24 as a result of budget cuts, dashing the hopes of many who eyed the jobs.

The budget plans show that apart from the uniformed officers, the government plans to recruit 2,300 civilians to support the National Police Service, starting with 328 in the next financial year.

At least 1,200 cadets are lined up in the budgets of the three successive financial years, 400 each year. Kenya Prisons Service, which also sustained budget cuts, is slated to recruit 6,000 prison warders.

As per the plan, the recruitment will start with 3,000 next year and 3,000 in the year ending June 30, 2028.

Prisons had no budget in 2023- 24 for listing new warders, leaving the service to survive on the 4,900 that were listed the previous year.

Ruto, in line with his promise, when he toured the Coast region, has also budgeted for 15,500 seafarers in the spending period.

Details show 3,500 would be recruited from July 1 under the Vijana Baharia programme and 4,000 the following financial year.

The government plans to connect another 9,500 to sea time opportunities – that is attach them to major shippers.

Youths graduating from school also stand a chance of getting trained by government agencies under the PSC internship programme.

At least 40,000 interns are to be enlisted in the next three years starting with 11,000 in the year starting July 1.

The public administration sector working group says 13,000 will be taken on board the following year and 16,000 in the final year of the expenditure period.

For the teaching jobs, budget plans show 12,000 teachers would be hired for primary schools under the Kenya Primary Education Equity in Learning Programme.

Of the numbers, 6,000 teachers would be hired on permanent and pensionable terms and 6,000 as interns.

Secondary schools are poised to get 108,000 more teachers in the next three financial years under the Secondary Education Quality Improvement Project (SEQIP).

Education sector working report shows that 18,000 would be hired on permanent and pensionable terms next financial year and a similar number in the subsequent two fiscal years.

Another 18,000 would be hired as interns should the Treasury approve the budget proposal by the education stakeholders.

Treasury disclosures show that the Ruto team would enlist 40,000 teachers every financial year until the year 2027-28.

President Ruto’s administration has been under sharp criticism over high levels of joblessness in the country.

Kenya Kwanza’s critics have laughed off the impact of importing labour abroad, which is among the strategies Ruto team has employed to manage the crisis.

World Bank in an October 2024 report put the unemployment rate at 5.7 per cent, indicating that the figures would worsen compared to last year. 

JOB FREEZES

A tough economic environment has presented job freezes amid a slowdown in business activity.

But President Ruto has exuded confidence that his team was turning the situation around progressively.

“Work is underway across the country and opportunities are opening up for many citizens, especially the youth,” he said in his Jamhuri Day speech last December.

He said his team has created jobs for teachers, agriculture sector workers, healthcare professionals, building and construction, seafarers and in foreign countries.

“The agro-industrial sector is also creating more jobs each year as we gear up to compete in various export markets,” Ruto said. He announced that 840,000 planned projects over the next four years are projected to create one million jobs.

The President said 200,000 jobs and thousands of indirect opportunities have been created across the building and construction value chain.

He also cited 107,000 community health promoters, alongside other healthcare professionals employed to support the national healthcare system.

“Our rejuvenated micro, small and medium enterprises have created 840,000 jobs this year,” the President said.

He said agreements with 13 other countries were at various stages of negotiations.

“We project to connect up to two million Kenyans with jobs abroad once completed,” the head of state said.

Last year, the government announced that Kenya Kwanza had engaged over 270,000 youth in the jobs sector since Jubilee term ended.