Uhuru seeks to paint rosy picture on unemployment

President Uhuru Kenyatta delivers a State of the Nation address at Parliament Buildings in Nairobi on March 15, 2017. PHOTO | PSCU

What you need to know:

  • President Uhuru Kenyatta said more than 2.3 million jobs had been created in Kenya over the four years he has been in power as a result of a more stable economy.

  • He attributed this to expansion and revival of industries, an attractive environment for investors and improved infrastructure. He said the government was keen on strengthening security and changing policies to encourage investment in industries and light manufacturing.

President Uhuru Kenyatta, in his State of the Nation Address on Wednesday, sought to paint a rosy picture on unemployment, saying more than 2.3 million jobs had been created in Kenya over the four years he has been in power as a result of a more stable economy.

The President attributed this to expansion and revival of industries, an attractive environment for investors and improved infrastructure. He said the government was keen on strengthening security and changing policies to encourage investment in industries and light manufacturing.

“As a responsible government serious about creating jobs, we have to have the right environment to attract investment,” said President Mr Kenyatta. “That investment, in turn, will lead to jobs and end to poverty.

“It will bring new economic opportunities across the country, especially to previously marginal areas.”

He assured Kenyans that all the funds borrowed will continue to be put to good use.

The Head of State said Kenya had, twice in a row, been ranked as the third-most improved country by the World Bank Ease of Doing Business Index because of substantial changes the country had made to the business policy framework.

Strategies that the government has used to create more jobs, he said, included revival of industries such as Pan Paper Mills in Webuye and Eldoret’s Rift Valley Textiles Company.

“The re-establishment of new motor vehicle assembly lines by Volkswagen, Peugeot and Toyota demonstrate that we are on our way,” President Kenyatta said, adding that the government was directing a lot of energy to the country’s fishing and shipping potential into new industries and jobs.

He however admitted that, in spite of the good macro-economic performance, many Kenyans were still struggling to make ends meet, to find jobs and to support their families.

In last year’s address, the President had said the country was focusing on improving information and Communication Technology, ICT and innovation to create jobs for more youth.