Written by PPS 2012-02-07 17:10:00 Read 710 Times

President Mwai Kibaki has directed that 10 per cent of all Government procurement be allocated to the youth so as to further empower them.

President Kibaki, at the same time, directed the Attorney General and the Minister for Finance to remove the legal bottlenecks that hinder the youth from accessing Government contracts.

"This way we shall accelerate the growth of youth owned enterprises," President Kibaki said.

The Head of State was speaking Tuesday at the Bomas of Kenya during celebrations to mark the 5th anniversary of the Youth Enterprise Development Fund.

Noting that the Youth Enterprise Development Fund and the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports could not deal with all youth issues single handedly, President Kibaki expressed the need for concerted efforts from all Government departments and the private sector.

Consequently, the President asked all ministries to ensure they include youth focused targets in the performance contracts of all their departments.

Similarly, the Head of State invited Non-Governmental actors to partner with the Government in securing the future of the country's youth.

"As a government we will continue supporting the youth because they are our nation's best hope," President Kibaki said.

The President said he was glad that in the short time it has been in operation the Youth Fund has recorded tremendous achievements, noting that the Fund has so far disbursed Kshs 5.9 billion to over 157,000 youth enterprises across the country.

Said the President: "Some of these enterprises have grown and are employing many Kenyans as well as contributing to the exchequer.  These efforts have also resulted in the creation of over 300,000 new jobs."

Newly launched Loan

Furthermore, President Kibaki pointed out that the Fund has, with its partners, trained over 200,000 youth in entrepreneurship besides facilitating them with access to markets for their products.

The President said the Fund has also helped to integrate thousands of young Kenyans into mainstream financial services and facilitated 6,000 young people to obtain employment outside Kenya.

In this regard, President Kibaki advised the youth to take advantage of the newly launched AgriVijana loan to engage in modern farming, saying the move would guarantee them income and enhance the country's food security.

The Head of State also urged the youth to fully utilize the Kshs 3.8 billion Youth Enterprise Development Fund to improve their economic status.

He said his Government will continue to support the fund's growth through allocation of more resources in recognition of its potential to transform the lives of the youth.

"Indeed, having started with an initial capital allocation of one billion shillings, the capitalization of the Fund now stands at 3.8 billion Shillings," President Kibaki said.

President Kibaki further encouraged young people in the country with viable business ideas to use the Youth Enterprise Development Fund to boost their incomes.

"I also urge borrowers to ensure that the loans are fully serviced so that more young business people can benefit from the programme," President Kibaki said.

He expressed satisfaction that the Youth Enterprise Development Fund Board has forged strategic partnerships with other agencies, both public and private, pointing out that this is the only way to leverage on the resources that the Government provides.

President Kibaki said he was also encouraged that the Youth Fund is already working on modalities of introducing a credit guarantee scheme.

"This initiative will make credit available to the youth, even from the private sector. I direct the relevant Government departments to facilitate this process so that we can achieve the benefits of this initiative sooner than later," President Kibaki said.

He impressed on the youth to make up their minds and transform themselves as individuals to benefit from the devolved fund.

Saying that the cost of funding education in the country was enormous, the President acknowledged the contribution of Equity Bank in supplementing efforts to enable the youth acquire relevant skills.

He praised the bank's education and training programs for the potential to make a significant impact on the lives of young people from economically disadvantaged backgrounds while guaranteeing better educational outcomes and improved chances of success in life.

The Head of State reminded Kenyans that funds will never be adequate to cater for all their needs and called on other non government agencies to emulate the noble efforts by supporting the training of youths to be productive members of the society.

On his part, Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka said the economic activities financed by the Youth Enterprise Development Fund and other devolved funds would guarantee the country's future.

The Vice President welcomed proposals by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports to introduce legal frameworks to govern the Youth Enterprise Development Fund and enable direct borrowing and assured that Parliament would pass such bill into law.

Others who spoke during the occasion included Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Dr. Paul Otuoma, Assistant Minister Wavinya Ndeti and the Director-General Vision 2030 Mr. Mugo Kibati.

In attendance were permanent secretaries led by acting Head of Public Service and Secretary to Cabinet Mr. Francis Kimemia, Chairman of Vision 2030 who is also the Equity Bank Chief  Executive Officer Dr. James Mwangi and other senior Government officials.

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