Restructure NYS to create jobs for youth

The recent corruption scandal at the National Youth Service seems to have exposed the government’s unpreparedness to address the problem of youth unemployment.

Lack of a clear strategy to put the institution back on track in the aftermath of the scandal puts into question the government’s commitment and capability to tackle joblessness.

The new concept of the NYS was no doubt innovative. Considering its strategic position in wooing youth votes for a government that rallied its popularity from young people, its collapse is likely to have political ramifications. 

The government appears to lack coherent and sound proposals to address the challenges of unemployment in a manner commensurate with the gravity of the problem.

It would be prudent to strengthen the institution’s structures and initiate reforms to enhance accountability in the huge budget that it was allocated.

It is true that the events that unfolded last year that eventually forced out the then Devolution and Planning Cabinet secretary, Ms Anne Waiguru, poisoned the environment.

Unfortunately, with the high unemployment rate among the youth and the value of the five-point vision that guided the rehabilitation of the youth service in the first place, there appears to be no option but for the top leadership to swallow the bitter pill and support the youth once again by starting the process of getting things back to normal.

Taking into account how successive governments have dealt with the problem of youth unemployment in the past, it is difficult to expect the government to come up with anything serious to address unemployment.

By targeting to recruit and train 21,780 youth every year, with each person earning at least Sh471 a day and a saving of Sh141 in saccos, the youth service was massive and ambitious by any standards.

Abandoning it without a clear direction complicates the matter.

BUILDING CAPACITY
There is a lot at stake — the incomplete projects, the millions saved in the saccos that the government helped to create, and most importantly the fate of the youth involved.

Kenyans who are not convinced that the government will deal with the Sh791 million scandal and bring the perpetrators to justice are justified because the authorities do not have a history of tackling such corruption cases.

The government has been preoccupied with launching mega projects with lofty promises to attract the youth without putting in place robust systems to curb corruption and waste.

The mega projects are not designed to address social problems such as youth unemployment.

This has been the case even when plans have been crafted ostensibly to address youth unemployment.

Instead of creating structures that address the long-term problem of unemployment, they are crafted quickly to achieve short-term political goals.

Take, for instance, the 30 per cent procurement rule. The international firms constructing roads and other projects work with local companies for supplies.

Having created a policy directive to have youth supply the government, it would equally be reasonable to require those international firms to procure a certain percentage from the youth.

However, this is not possible without first enhancing the capacity of youth businesses.

Why is it so difficult, for instance, to help the youth secure loans through government guarantees to satisfy the 30 per cent rule?

Without an integrated approach in tackling youth unemployment, this and many other questions will linger in the minds of young people for many years to come.

Mr Obonyo is the author of Conversations about the Youth in Kenya. [email protected].