President William Ruto addressing residents of Maragua Ridge area in Murang'a, April 3, 2025. /PCSPresident William Ruto has urged youths to take advantage
of various programmes initiated by his administration to stem joblessness.
According to the National Council for Population and Development, about 67 per cent of Kenyan youths who make up 35 per cent of the population are unemployed.
But the President who spoke in Maragua in Murang’a county on Thursday said the government is implementing three programmes to empower youths with jobs.
He cited the Affordable Housing Project that he said is currently 150,000 housing units countrywide and has employed over 200,000 youths.
“If you are a plumber, mason, carpenter or electrician, look for employment in this project because it has many opportunities.”
He also cited the ICT hubs that are being established in every ward and are meant to each employ between 200 and 300 people.
“Once your MP completes the hub, the Ministry of ICT will come in and provide instructors and the necessary equipment,” he said.
Ruto said his government has also been sourcing for jobs in other countries that can be accessed digitally through the hubs.
He said under the labour mobility programme, many youths are being deployed to other countries to work.
The President said employment opportunities are available in the United States, United Arabs Emirates (UAE), France and the United Kingdom (UK) among others.
“We are working with MPs to source for jobs in the international market so that we can save youths from drugs and joblessness,” he said, underscoring the need for Kenyans to shun divisive politics.
The Mt Kenya region has been grappling with drug and alcohol addiction for years that are attributed to joblessness.
The President also urged the Controller of Budget (CoB) to allow county governments to issue bursaries to support children from disadvantaged families.
He said all children deserve the support of bursaries regardless of whether they come from the national or county governments.
“There is no child that belongs to the county or national government. I’m asking the Council of Governors to work with us so we can show CoB how important bursaries are,” he said.
Ruto was responding to Governor Irungu Kang’ata who said his Nyota Zetu bursaries programmes that supports thousands of children is struggling since CoB wrote a letter prohibiting his administration from issuing bursaries.
