Deputy President Kithure Kindiki now says that the Kenya Kwanza Administration’s job creation program is on course.
Speaking on Thursday during an inter-ministerial meeting, to track the progress made and fast-rack local and diaspora job creation programmes, Kindiki said that the government has put in every effort to accelerate it and increase the number of people in gainful employment.
He noted that these efforts include the creation of both long-term and short-term jobs for all.
“Our job creation programme is on course. We are making every effort to accelerate it and push the number of people who engaged in meaningful employment higher and be able to account for ourselves as a generation and as a country.
“We are creating jobs locally both long-term and short-term because a job is a job. The campaign theme of President William Ruto was Kazi Ni Kazi. A job doesn’t have to be permanent and pensionable, that is just one type of a job. A job is a job,” the Deputy President said.
Kindiki said that locally, the government is currently providing opportunities across different sectors including in the public service and security agencies, and partnering with the private sector to create jobs.
He said that similarly, through affordable and social housing, more than 160,000 youths have been engaged and another 200,000 young people across the 47 Counties on the Climate Resilience Program ‘ClimateWorkx’ to foster climate resilience.
He, however, told off critics of the state’s decision to create jobs through the affordable housing project.
The DP said that while they think it is demeaning, it is better than not having a job at all.
“I have seen some people trying to ridicule the 160,000 young people engaged in the housing programme, saying that these are temporary jobs, what will happen to these people when the projects are over?
“If we can engage up to 500,000 young people for the next two to four years, in this programme as opposed to them staying idle we will have gone a long way in getting jobs for the people of Kenya and by the time it is over, we will have devised the next programme for short term, midterm or long term jobs,” Kindiki said.
He added currently the Labour Mobility Program is in progress, with over 200,000 Kenyans placed in jobs abroad.
The DP said the government is also establishing 1,450
Digital Hubs, one in every ward, across the country to enable the youth to access
digital jobs.
The meeting was attended by Principal
Secretaries; Shadrack Mwadime (Labour), Ismail Maalim (Youth Affairs and
Creative Economy), Dr. Juma Mukhwana (Industry), Alfred K’Ombudo (Trade),
Geoffrey Kaituko (Maritime Affairs), Susan Mang’eni (Micro, Small and Medium
Enterprises Development), Teresia Mbaika (Devolution), Dr. Salim Dokota
(Cabinet Affairs), Moses Kuria (Senior Advisor, President's Council of Economic
Advisors) and other senior Government officials were present.
