State’s Ksh15b boost to youth, women is insufficient

The government has proposed to allocate Ksh14.9 billion for youth and women empowerment in the next budget, with Ksh14.8 billion designated for youth initiatives and Ksh182 million set aside for the women’s fund.

This marks a slight increase compared to the 2023/24 Finance Bill, where Ksh14.7 billion was allocated to women and youth, with Ksh14.6 billion for youth and Ksh182 million for women.

The funds are intended to promote enterprise development as a critical strategy to spur economic opportunities and increase youth participation in development.

The aim is also to expand access to finances for both youth and women to support their businesses. Treasury data shows that the funds will be allocated to youth through various initiatives, including the Kenya Youth Empowerment and Opportunities Project, National Youth Service, Youth Employment and Enterprise (Uwezo) Fund, Youth Empowerment Centers, VIVA Youth Programme, and the youth fund, have proven insufficient to significantly reduce the unemployment rate among Kenyan youth.

High unemployment

“In order to empower the youth and support businesses owned by youth and women, I have proposed Sh89.5 billion for these initiatives,” Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndungu said in his budget statement.

But with the high unemployment rate among the youth which has been increasing since 2021, the government must put in more efforts to empower them and increase economic opportunities might do little to achieve the necessary goals.

According to the World Bank collection of development indicators, youths who form 35 per cent of the population, have the highest unemployment rate at 67 per cent.