The gravest and most vivid images of unemployment, underemployment, hopelessness in our youth is being profoundly seen in the Kazi Mtaani initiative, managed by the national government, in the case of Western region, the Counties of Kakamega, Bungoma, Busia, Vihiga and neighbouring Trans Nzoia County. Youth who have graduated from tertiary institutions, including universities who’ve told tales of having graduated and remained unemployed for years are now cutting grass, declogging trenches, gathering garbage, yes doing the most mundane unskilled jobs to just eke a living for the temporary duration of the Kazi Mtaani initiative.
But we can bet that none of the Counties of Kakamega, Bungoma, Busia, Vihiga and Trans Nzoia has a data base of its youth who have gone through tertiary institutions and their respective skill sets and what they are doing and where they could be redirected to, to utilize these skills and training whether under self-employment programmes or County generated programmes.
In this state of dire unemployment for the majority of our youth we have the Kakamega Senator who opposed the injection of additional funds. And yes, the same unemployed youth will be clapping for that Senator when he tours the County? What can an additional 1 billion shillings do to tackle poverty, unemployment? Can the unemployed youth compute that and then they will realize what opportunities their Senator is denying them by taking the twisted position.
The elected leaders, the public servants are most comfortable living off the fat the nation and the tax payers resources. How the millions who are unemployed expect the leaders to bother and cater for their plight is simply a fairytale.
The future of the youth in Kenya and the Counties of the former Western Province will only change if they make the life of the elected leaders and public servants uncomfortable by ceaselessly agitating, demonstrating and camping at the public service offices from Monday to Friday all public offices demanding for jobs, opportunities and demanding their rightful share of the national cake. It must be made very clear that all Kenyans must share in misery or in happiness, and the fruits of the nation in wealth and taxes. It is foolhardy for the youth to only wake up and become commodities for hire to drive politicians’ reelection agendas when there are elections. If the youth make it a full time business, work to remind the elected leaders, public servants that they are suffering, hurting, wasting away in misery, make no mistake the elected leaders will address their plight and the idleness that allows these elected leaders and public servants to engage in the pastime of corruption, wastage will be no more.
