NYS takes clean-up campaign to Coast
President Kenyatta at State House Mombasa on August 28, 2015 when he hosted Coast leaders who included Members of Parliament. With him is is Interior CS Joseph Nkaissery (left) and Dr Naomi Shaban. PHOTO | PSCU
What you need to know:
- Uhuru says programme to create jobs.
- Leaders told to start campaign against drug abuse and work with police.
The National Youth Service clean-up will be launched in all the constituencies at the Coast, President Kenyatta announced on Friday.
Addressing the region’s political leaders at State House Mombasa, the President told them that the programme’s key objective was to create employment for the youth. It started in Nairobi’s Kibera slum and would be replicated in the 26 constituencies at the Coast.
Mr Kenyatta told the closed-door meeting which was also attended by NYS director-general Nelson Githinji that he would officially launch the project in one of the constituencies. He directed the politicians to start the campaign against drug abuse on Tuesday. The coast is one of the regions that has been hit hard by drug abuse with more than 60,000 youth reported to be addicted.
On Thursday, the Head of State ordered an immediate crackdown on drug dealers and urged leaders to work with the police to eliminate the drug menace in the region in the same the way illicit brew is being dealt with especially in central Kenya and Nairobi.
The campaign will also involve religious leaders, various security agencies’ departments and administrators.
Sources at Friday’s meeting said President Kenyatta also directed that the NYS camp at Miritini in Changamwe Constituency be renovated, staffed and opened as a rehabilitation centre.
The President also responded to the thorny issue of land at the coast.
RESOLVED AMICABLY
He asked the leaders to ensure that residents stopped occupying land under dispute. Instead, such disputes should be resolved amicably through discussions, he said, singling out the Waitiki land row.
Mr Kenyatta added that 144,000 title deeds were ready for collection and asked MPs and Ministry of Lands officials to find how the owners could access their documents.
Acting Lands Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i reported that the first phase of survey on the controversial 930-acre Waitiki farm in Likoni was complete.
