It’s a pity that youth were left out again

What you need to know:

  • Appointing political rejects and active politicians to these institutions was a blunder. For a government that campaigned and promised to promote Kenya’s youthful population, the appointments have raised doubts about its commitment to inclusion.
  • Although the government has created many initiatives to foster youth development, political inclusion — one of the key ingredients — has been lacking.
  • Equally important is the need for the government to develop capacity-building programmes to give the youth the skills they require to fit in the civil service.

The much-touted parastatal reforms, which had promised Kenyans significant gains, have started on the wrong footing, if the list of those appointed to head them is anything to go by.

State corporations in this country have not had a good history, suffering under political patronage. That is why Kenyans looked forward to the radical changes that the Jubilee administration promised to reform the sector.

Appointing political rejects and active politicians to these institutions was a blunder. For a government that campaigned and promised to promote Kenya’s youthful population, the appointments have raised doubts about its commitment to inclusion.

It is obvious that the new appointments were made with Jubilee’s electoral victory in 2017 in mind. However, for a government that is struggling with a huge wage bill and elusive sources of revenue generation, there was a compelling need to give jobs to technocrats with the right qualifications to help Kenya’s parastatals tackle the tasks ahead.

The Constitution acknowledges the importance and participation of the youth in building national identity, but the Jubilee administration has consistently failed to include them in its appointments.

This is disappointing, considering that this same government has sought to learn lessons from the private sector, where young people are doing well as they have impressive academic qualifications.

According to a 2014 report by the Ministry of Labour, more than 70 per cent of the employees in the government are above 35.

This compares poorly with the private sector, where 60 per cent of employees are aged below 35. With about 80 per cent of its population being below 35, Kenya is one of the world’s most youthful countries.

FAILED TO YIELD RESULTS

Although the government has created many initiatives to foster youth development, political inclusion — one of the key ingredients — has been lacking.

Such initiatives as the Youth Enterprise and Development Fund and the 30 per cent government tenders reserved for the youth, women, and persons with disabilities have failed to yield the intended results since they are not properly anchored in political processes.

One way to ensure integration of the youth, especially in the civil service, is a deliberate effort to transfer vital skills from older public servants to younger ones.

Equally important is the need for the government to develop capacity-building programmes to give the youth the skills they require to fit in the civil service.

Young people do not lack the required qualifications to serve in the government, but they are left out on the basis of lack of experience, which is measured only by the number of years of service.

Although experience is important and should not be ignored, there is a need for affirmative action to consider other factors, rather than only years of service, to help propel young people into positions of influence in the civil service.

Kenya should learn from the 2011 Arab Spring mass protests in Egypt and Tunisia, which were partly fuelled by youth unemployment and exclusion of young people from political and decision-making processes.

Mr Obonyo is a Global Young Diplomat and the external adviser on the UN Habitat’s Youth Advisory Board