Don’t politicise the Kazi Mtaani Initiative, cautions President Kenyatta

President Uhuru Kenyatta has cautioned politicians from seeking to gain political mileage from the Kazi Mtaani Initiative which is aimed at cushioning the youth from the economic effects of the Coronavirus pandemic. Speaking at the KICC on 2nd July 2020 at the close of a two-day training workshop on Kazi Mtaani for Regional and County Commissioners, the Head of State reiterated that any interference of a political nature  in the forthcoming countrywide roll out of the Kazi Mtaani youth employment program would not be tolerated. ”The program will be free of any political interference. It’ll not be a process which politicians will use to get votes”, he said.

The countrywide roll out of the youth employment initiative is set to start on Monday next week following the completion of a successful pilot phase which was conducted in 8 counties. ”I had the opportunity to visit a number of sites where these young people were working and I saw the positive impact they had in terms of improving lives and protecting the environment of those who are the most vulnerable”, indicated Pres. Kenyatta.

The Head of State further directed the Regional and County Commissioners to take responsibility of ensuring transparency in the recruitment of young people into the program. ”It will be your direct responsibility of ensuring that there is no abuse. It is for you to ensure that money that the money that comes to your regions is used properly and for the intended purposes”, he emphasized, noting that similar interventions were in the past mismanaged, ”Many of you recall that a similar program was unfortunately abused. I have to be very clear with you, we will not entertain abuse this time around”.

Pres. Kenyatta also said that the beneficiaries of the youth employment initiative should be identified purely on merit, ”recruit people who are in need and not brothers, sisters or cousins. This money should only help the people who are in real need. The first test for you will be the recruitment.”

Interior CS Fred Matiangi who was also present at the event lauded the efforts made so far, while cautioning against laxity or mismanagement, ”So far so good. We have had very positive reports from the field. The level of commitment, focus and effectiveness are very high”.