Politics and policy
By NEVILLE OTUKI
In Summary
- For a long time, the agriculture, retail and manufacturing sectors have been the biggest generators of jobs.
- Kenya has embarked on major infrastructure projects to make up for decades of under-investment that stunted economic growth and cement its status as a regional commercial hub.
The multi-billion-shilling projects lined up for 2015
are set to make the construction sector the leading creator of formal
jobs in Kenya.
For a long time, the agriculture, retail and manufacturing
sectors have been the biggest generators of jobs. But the construction
sector is set to change this formation as Kenya launches large-scale
infrastructure projects, including building a new airport adjacent to
Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, construction of a 10,000-kilometre
road network and the building of the 609 kilometres of railway from
Mombasa to Nairobi.
The first phase of constructing the Konza tech city
also promises to create at least 17,000 direct jobs next year. Policy
makers reckon that about 200,000 new jobs will be created by the four
mega projects over the next four years—a huge figure considering that in
2013 the sector generated 14,000 new jobs.
Kenya has embarked on major infrastructure projects
to make up for decades of under-investment that stunted economic growth
and cement its status as a regional commercial hub.
The Transport and Infrastructure ministry reckons
the ambitious road plan will create demand for engineers, surveyors,
technicians, machine operators and labourers. This will ease the biting
unemployment among Kenya’s growing population. The construction of the
first phase stretching 2,000 kilometres will start next year.
A new financing model dubbed annuity concessions
has been crafted to accelerate construction and will see contractors
design, build, finance, operate and maintain the roads for some time,
with the Treasury acting as a guarantor for their bank loans.
“We expect about 137,000 jobs to be created
directly by the annuity programme during the construction,” said Kenya
Rural Roads Authority’s director-general Mwangi Maingi in an interview.
The first phase of the roads upgrade in this fiscal
year will create 29,000 jobs. The jobs will increase in the subsequent
phases with 43,750 workers earmarked for a 3,000 kilometre stretch in
the 2015/16 fiscal year and another 64,250 employees to build the
remaining 5,000 kilometres by 2017.
Equipment like earth-movers, excavators, rollers
and concrete equipment will be in high demand, watering the market for
dealers in these products.
New demand will also be created with the
construction of the Sh327 billion new railway line linking Mombasa to
Nairobi that is targeted to employ about 30,000 local workers. Their
recruitment started in October.
notuki@ke.nationmedia.com
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