Don’t disband the NYS; fix its problems

President Uhuru Kenyatta congratulates National Youth Service graduates at NYS College in Gilgil, Nakuru, on February 16, 2018. PHOTO | AYUB MUIYURO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • It will take long to come up with another comprehensive plan to address youth joblessness in a manner that NYS sought.
  • The government must also look into other ways of institutionalising the absorption of the youth in the economy.

The recent threat by Parliament to consider diverting the resources that were meant for the National Youth Service to other youth-related areas due to corruption is not wise.

Although it may sound plausible going by the gravity of the graft that has characterised the NYS in the recent years, it misses a crucial point.

What the agency needs is a strong insulation from capture by cartels, which not only affects the NYS but also many other government agencies.

The only difference is that at the NYS, the agents of the scam seem to lack sophistication and proper coordination as happens elsewhere. 

LEADERSHIP
Having said that, it is clear that the change of guard at the NYS helm was not sufficient to slay corruption in the institution.

The lot that led to the huge loss of money then remained intact to engineer what now appears to be yet another mega scandal.

The extent to which the new leadership has created processes will be judged when the ongoing investigations are concluded, if they will be able to apportion individual responsibilities to those culpable. 

No one knows how this will end, but past experience offers some scary precedent.

BUSINESS

However, some remarkable efforts are clear, which justifies some audit of the NYS before a blanket condemnation, as Parliament appears bent on, is offered.

For instance, the agency is now able to procure some of its consumables directly.

It is also able to engage in income-generating activities such as making uniforms for the country’s armed forces.

At task is to identify the institutional weaknesses that are making NYS vulnerable to graft.

It is true that the events that have unfolded in the recent past have poisoned the operating environment and dented its credibility.

UNEMLOYMENT
However, with the high unemployment rate among the youth and the value of the five-point strategy that guided the rehabilitation of the NYS, leading to the huge resource allocation, the government has few options in getting an alternative.

Taking into account how the successive governments have incompetently dealt with the problem of youth unemployment in the past, it will take long to come up with another comprehensive plan to address youth joblessness in a manner that NYS sought.

The NYS initial target was to recruit and train 21,780 youth every year, with each person earning at least Sh471 and a saving of Sh141, a highly ambitious initiative.

Leaving the project without a clear direction has a huge political risk. 

ECONOMY
Also, there is more at stake — the unfinished projects, the millions saved in the Saccos the government helped youth create and the fate of the youth enrolled in the programme. 

Kenyans are justifiably disillusioned on whether the government will conclusively solve the new scandal at NYS.

If it had done so in the first scandal, we would be speaking a different language today.

The government must also look into other ways of institutionalising the absorption of the youth in the economy.

The Jubilee government has carried out mega infrastructural projects with lofty promises to attract the youth — without putting in place enough structures to not only accommodate the youth but also to curb corruption and waste.

PROCUREMENT
Instead of creating structures that address the problem of joblessness among the youth as a long-term strategy, the programmes are quickly put together to only achieve short-term political goals.

Take for instance the 30 per cent procurement rule.

All the international firms constructing roads and other mega infrastructure partner with local companies for certain 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.

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