Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has defended the government's decision to commit Sh2 billion to the NextGen KE Youth Employment Programme, saying the investment is aimed at unlocking the potential of young people, creating more job opportunities and strengthening Kenya's long-term economic growth.
Speaking at State House in Nairobi on Friday during the launch of the programme, Mbadi said the National Treasury had a duty to ensure public funds were directed to projects that delivered the greatest value to Kenyans. He said investing in young people remained one of the best decisions the country could make because it would build a stronger workforce, support businesses and create future economic growth.
"The National Treasury has a simple but important responsibility, and that is to ensure that every shilling entrusted to government is invested where it delivers the greatest economic and social return for the people of Kenya. No investment offers greater returns than investing in the people, and this will spur productive capacity and more returns in the future," he said.
Mbadi said Kenya's youthful population remains one of the country's biggest strengths, noting that nearly three-quarters of Kenyans are below the age of 35. However, he said many young people continue to face difficulties finding meaningful jobs after completing their education.
"For many graduates, the transition from education into meaningful employment remains one of the most challenging stages in their professional journey. Our major concern is how we will create more job opportunities for our graduates who are coming out of colleges because that is the single most important challenge that we have as a country. It is not unique to Kenya that we have a growing population, yet job opportunities are not expanding as much," he explained.
The Treasury CS said youth unemployment should be treated as an economic challenge and not just a labour issue, arguing that no country can maintain steady economic growth while failing to make full use of its young workforce.
"This is why youth employment is not simply a social priority under the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda, but it is an economic imperative. No economy can achieve sustainable growth if it underutilises its most abundant factor of production. Every shilling we invest in programmes such as NextGen is an investment in Kenya's future production, future taxpayers, future entrepreneurs and future business leaders," Mbadi said.
He said the launch of the programme officially activates the government's Sh2 billion allocation, which will work alongside the United Nations Development Programme's initial Sh175 million contribution as well as additional support from private sector partners.
According to Mbadi, the funding demonstrates the government's commitment to giving young people access to real opportunities while encouraging more investment from development partners and businesses.
"This allocation reflects a deliberate choice by the Kenyan government to back our young people with real resources and scale. Public resources should not seek to replace private investment. They should unlock it. Every shilling invested by government should encourage additional investment by businesses and development partners."
Mbadi also said recent economic indicators show encouraging progress, pointing to improved tourism performance, rising investment, better activity at the Nairobi Securities Exchange and increased private sector credit as signs that the economy is moving in the right direction.