President Uhuru Kenyatta. The much-touted parastatal reforms, which had
promised Kenyans significant gains, have started on the wrong footing,
if the list of those appointed to head them is anything to go by. AFP
FILE PHOTO | ANDREW COWIE
The much-touted parastatal reforms, which had promised Kenyans
significant gains, have started on the wrong footing, if the list of
those appointed to head them is anything to go by.
State
corporations in this country have not had a good history, suffering
under political patronage. That is why Kenyans looked forward to the
radical changes that the Jubilee administration promised to reform the
sector.
Appointing political rejects and active
politicians to these institutions was a blunder. For a government that
campaigned and promised to promote Kenya’s youthful population, the
appointments have raised doubts about its commitment to inclusion.
It
is obvious that the new appointments were made with Jubilee’s electoral
victory in 2017 in mind. However, for a government that is struggling
with a huge wage bill and elusive sources of revenue generation, there
was a compelling need to give jobs to technocrats with the right
qualifications to help Kenya’s parastatals tackle the tasks ahead.
The
Constitution acknowledges the importance and participation of the youth
in building national identity, but the Jubilee administration has
consistently failed to include them in its appointments.
This
is disappointing, considering that this same government has sought to
learn lessons from the private sector, where young people are doing well
as they have impressive academic qualifications.
According to a 2014 report by the Ministry of Labour, more than 70 per cent of the employees in the government are above 35.
This
compares poorly with the private sector, where 60 per cent of employees
are aged below 35. With about 80 per cent of its population being below
35, Kenya is one of the world’s most youthful countries.
FAILED TO YIELD RESULTS
Although
the government has created many initiatives to foster youth
development, political inclusion — one of the key ingredients — has been
lacking.
Such initiatives as the Youth Enterprise and
Development Fund and the 30 per cent government tenders reserved for
the youth, women, and persons with disabilities have failed to yield the
intended results since they are not properly anchored in political
processes.
One way to ensure integration of the youth,
especially in the civil service, is a deliberate effort to transfer
vital skills from older public servants to younger ones.
Equally
important is the need for the government to develop capacity-building
programmes to give the youth the skills they require to fit in the civil
service.
Young people do not lack the required
qualifications to serve in the government, but they are left out on the
basis of lack of experience, which is measured only by the number of
years of service.
Although experience is important and
should not be ignored, there is a need for affirmative action to
consider other factors, rather than only years of service, to help
propel young people into positions of influence in the civil service.
Kenya
should learn from the 2011 Arab Spring mass protests in Egypt and
Tunisia, which were partly fuelled by youth unemployment and exclusion
of young people from political and decision-making processes.
Mr Obonyo is a Global Young Diplomat and the external adviser on the UN Habitat’s Youth Advisory Board
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