The East African Youth Parliament (EAYP) leaders have petitioned the national and county governments in Kenya and other governments across East Africa to embrace prudent financial management practises, which will spur development and stem unemployment in their respective countries.
The President of the East African Youth Parliament (EAYP), Mr. Jeremiah Mumo Kisangau, decried wastage of resources, which he said was rampant in government, leading to runaway unemployment among the youth.
Kisangau said the EAYP and Ministry of Finance were working hand in hand to train and sensitise officials from various government ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) and semi-autonomous government agencies (SAGAs) on prudent financial management.
The EAYP Secretary General, Mr. Kevin Mugwe, called on the governments to give youth opportunities instead of relegating them to the back seat on issues governance, adding that the youth are knowledgeable and talented people, who can play a big role in the development of the country.
“I am also calling upon the youth to take lead in coming up with solutions to the issues facing them and the country, such as corruption,” Mugwe said.
He noted that the digitization of various government systems in Kenya will go a long way in creating jobs for the youth.
Mugwe also called on the youth to be innovative in finding solutions to various challenges facing them.
The EAYP leaders were speaking in Naivasha on Thursday during a three-day training workshop for MDAs and SAGAs on prudent financial management. It was organised by the Ministry of Finance and EAYP.
Speaking on the sidelines of the workshop, Nakuru County Commissioner, Mr. Lyford Kibaara, said the workshop is aimed at improving the overall performance of various sectors of the government, mainly accounts and supply chain officials from various government MDAs and SAGAs.
Kibaara said the Kenya Government has tried as much as possible to incorporate the Youth Agenda in its development programmes and has embraced the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), which seeks to ensure that the youth who form part of the vulnerable groups are empowered economically.
He said the BETA programme entails; affordable housing, manufacturing, food security, and health and noted that the government is keen on these four areas, which will in turn change the lives of the people at the bottom of the economic ladder and youth.
The County Commissioner said population explosions, among other issues, were creating pressure on resources, and there was a need for the youth to think outside the box in helping the government find solutions to these issues.
Kibaara said there are lots of emerging issues in various sectors, such as security, that call for a lot of innovativeness in putting measures in place to combat them and this could involve thinking ahead of time.
“You should not tire of asking for transparency and accountability from government officials as far as public funds are concerned and demanding value for money,” he said, asking them to forward to the government through the relevant agencies any issues requiring legislation.
Kenya Bureau of Statistics 2022 Labour Force Quarterly Report (October–December), released in April, indicates that the current unemployment rate in the country stands at 12.7 percent, representing 2.97 million people. The data shows that people below the age of 29, who are mainly young graduates, were the most affected by joblessness.
By Mabel Keya-Shikuku
