Friday, March 13, 2009

Mpango wa kuboresha maisha ya vijana

President Kibaki (second left), accompanied by Prime Minister Raila Odinga (left) and Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka (right) at Matuu on Thursday during the launch of the Kazi Kwa Vijana initiative. Photo/STEPHEN MUDIARI

By LUCAS BARASA and BENJAMIN MUINDIPosted Thursday, March 12 2009 at 21:17

The government on Thursday launched an ambitious public works programme intended to create 300,000 jobs for the youth in the next six months. The Sh15 billion programme will have projects in all constituencies and is intended to help the youth and improve food security.

Speaking at Yatta Canal in Eastern province during the launch of the programme, President Kibaki said the Kazi Kwa Vijana (Jobs for the Youth) effort would enable the government to push development activities at the same time addressing their unemployment.

Decent livelihood

“As Kenyans will recall, my government did promise to facilitate the creation of opportunities to enable our youth to be gainfully employed and to earn a decent livelihood,” the President said.

“The Kazi Kwa Vijana programme we are launching today is one of the strategies through which the Grand Coalition Government intends to achieve this commitment.” Of these, 50,000 jobs will be created under the water and irrigation projects, 100,000 jobs under forestry, while 105,000 others will be projects under the Ministry for Youth Affairs.

Others will be generated under Roads (50,000) and 15,000 jobs will be in urban garbage collection and waste management projects. Even as he launched the programme, the President accused the media and NGOs of fuelling national discontent.

“We will not be able to defeat hunger and famine, create enough jobs for the youth and do all the things that will make Kenya a great country if we continue to indulge in negative thinking and politics, ” he said.

Earlier in the day, the programme had been launched at Mashuru in the Rift valley district of Kajiado, where Prime Minister Raila Odinga said the Mashuru dam will provide 30 million litres of water to thousands of people in the drought-stricken district.

Said the Premier: “Other than saving local residents long distances they travel in search of water, the Sh4.6 million dam will also provide water to more than 18,000 domestic animals and thousands of wild animals in this area.”

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