Babu Owino cites Vision 2030 execution gaps as key to slower job creation

Embakasi East MP Babu Owino has said Kenya’s priority had to be creating jobs for young people and fast-tracking youth leadership ahead of the 2027 elections, arguing that economic transformation should have been anchored on Vision 2030.

Speaking on NTV on Monday, he insisted that failure to fully implement the national development blueprint had slowed job creation, calling for renewed focus on macroeconomic stability, security, infrastructure, and industrialisation.

The lawmaker said Kenya already had a clear roadmap but lacked proper execution.

“We don’t need to do anything unique. We just need to follow that blueprint that we were given,” he said.

Babu argued that job creation remained the country’s biggest challenge, saying that addressing unemployment could resolve “almost 70% of our challenges.”

He urged investment in infrastructure, agriculture, manufacturing, and energy as key drivers of employment.

“If a nation is infested with goons… there is no investor who can come,” Owino said, stressing that security and governance reforms were central to economic growth.

He also pointed to regional comparisons, noting Ethiopia’s large-scale energy production and export capacity as an example of missed opportunities for Kenya.

The legislator added that Kenya’s reliance on imports was undermining local industrial growth. “We import chicken, we import everything… that means that we lose so much to foreign countries,” he said, calling for stronger domestic production systems.

His remarks come as the recently data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) Economic Survey 2026 shows the economy created 882,100 new jobs in 2025, up from previous years, but with most employment concentrated in the informal sector.

According to the survey, total employment rose to 21.6 million, with the informal sector accounting for over 87% of new jobs. Wholesale, retail trade and hospitality were among the biggest contributors to job creation, while construction accounted for a smaller share than expected.

The report also shows wage employment increased to 3.31 million workers, up from 3.21 million in 2024, with the private sector continuing to dominate formal job creation.

Babu warned that unless Kenya fully implemented its long-term development plan, job creation would remain inconsistent. He called for renewed focus on macroeconomic stability, including inflation control, affordable credit, and currency stability, alongside investment in education and healthcare reforms.

He further pushed for greater youth inclusion in leadership ahead of the 2027 elections, arguing that younger leaders had the energy and urgency required to drive change.

“Young people should occupy these positions,” he said, pointing to global examples of young leaders in political office.

His comments reflect ongoing national debate over unemployment, economic growth, and the effectiveness of Kenya’s Vision 2030 framework in delivering sustainable and inclusive development.