Lawyer and political analyst Fanya Mambo Kinuthia has called for a fundamental shift in how the NYOTA Fund is implemented, arguing that true empowerment lies in supporting people who are already engaged in productive work rather than distributing cash through what he termed political theatre.
Speaking during an interview on Radio Generation, Mambo criticised the government’s broader economic approach, linking empowerment programmes to what he described as deceptive taxation measures that continue to burden ordinary Kenyans.
He argued that while workers earning Sh30,000 are told they are benefiting from tax relief, the gains are quickly erased through increased statutory deductions.
“They reduce PAYE and say you’re saving about Sh732, then they increase NSSF. What have they really done?” he asked. “People are feeling the pain, but they think we are fools.”
Mambo took particular issue with publicised cash disbursements under empowerment initiatives, saying they are often accompanied by costly ceremonies that contradict the idea of helping the poor.
“Anyone here who has ever sent Sh22,000 of their own hard-earned money—did you hire tents and chairs and call cameras?” he posed. “When you send money you’ve worked and sweated for, you don’t do pomp and colour. Yet leaders spend millions to announce they’ve ‘given’ Sh22,000, using other people’s money.”
He argued that such displays undermine the purpose of the NYOTA Fund, which he said should focus on expanding existing livelihoods rather than handing out money without accountability.
“Money is not given in this amorphous way,” Mambo said. “Show us what you do, so that we fund what you do. It doesn’t have to be a million-dollar business.”
Using everyday examples, he said empowerment should target small but active enterprises, from artisans to street vendors.
“We don’t care if someone is a shoe shiner,” he noted. “We want to expand what you do, but we can’t empower nothing.”
He cited informal traders who buy, prepare, and sell fruit as examples of grassroots entrepreneurship that deserve structured support.
Mambo also challenged how large development funds are managed, warning against waste and short-term thinking.
“When the World Bank gives you money, you don’t waste it and say it was a grant,” he said. “After two or three years, they should find that you multiplied it—sustainably.”
He concluded by urging young people to take initiative while calling on the government and development partners to redesign the NYOTA Fund around affordable credit, intermediaries, and measurable productivity.
“Go start something, whatever it is,” Mambo said. “Show us what you do. That is empowerment. Anything else is nonsense.”
