Past State job plans muddy the waters for Uwezo

Graduands follow proceedings at a past ceremony at a public university. Analysts say public projects are easy prey for half-hearted entrepreneurs. FILE 

By NEVILLE OTUKI,

In Summary

• While owners of start-ups cite difficult rules in accessing similar funds, analysts say public projects are easy prey for half-hearted entrepreneursi

Past State attempts to build programmes aimed at protecting thousands of young graduates against the pain of joblessness have recorded negligible success.

Several such projects are now skeletons of grand plans while thousands of graduates continue pouring into the jammed job market annually.

According to a last year’s report by the African Development Bank (AfDB), youth joblessness accounts for 70 per cent of total unemployment in Kenya.

Youth projects such as the Youth Enterprise Development Fund (YEDF) and the Kazi kwa Vijana project in 2006 and 2009 respectively by former President Kibaki have done little to correct the imbalance and reduce the sharp pain.

While political manifestos have continually promised to ease the pain, a number have remained more or less grand plans on paper.

A mix of economic headwinds has ensured the pace of job creation does not match the number of new graduates coming out of colleges and universities.

Worse, these graduates are all angling for the existing jobs, showing that there are wide skills gaps despite the billions of shillings spent on higher education.

Sources familiar with youth projects reckon that poor execution and lack of commitment among officials rank among hurdles hindering smooth implementation of the plans. This hurts efforts to empower young people.

From the foregoing, interest groups have been watching the Government since the launch of the Sh6 billion Uwezo fund that targets youth and women. Avoid the path of failure, they have warned, using past projects as a test case.

“Careful planning is needed before the funds start to be administered,” Martin Nkaari, the executive director of Emerging Enterprise Network, a lobby, said in an interview.

Mr Nkaari says the State should strive to exorcise ghosts that have haunted similar for successful take-off of the new project.

In 2009, the Kazi kwa Vijana project was sold as the pipeline through which 300,000 jobs would be generated in six months and the project got Sh15 billion to cover three years.

But graft allegations choked the plan that had attracted the World Bank’s financial backing. As a result, the Bank in 2011 cancelled the Sh4.5 billion it had earmarked following an audit that revealed gross misuse of funds which were in the custody of the former Prime Minister’s office.

The same year the State launched Pasha Centres or digital villages that targeted to finance youth’s ICT-based ventures. Pasha was to open up remote areas to technology and create job market at the grassroots levels.

“A lack of commitment by officials has been the bane of Pasha programme,” Geoffrey Gitau, the chairman of Pasha Association of Kenya (PAK) said, adding that it has failed to address target issues.