Public Service and Human Capital Development Cabinet Secretary (CS), Justin Muturi yesterday told lawmakers that his ministry does not have adequate funds to implement President William Ruto’s directive to commercialize National Youth Service (NYS).

Muturi made startling revelations, indicating that as a result of budgetary constraints, the service will not be able to recruit an additional 20,000 recruits as directed by Ruto.

Accompanied by NYS Commandant General James Tembur, Muturi said that in the next Budget Policy Statement (BPS) they have only been given a ceiling of Sh 11.18 billion yet they required Sh 26.48 billion to implement projects under their purview.

Muturi told the MPs who sit on the committee on Social Protection chaired by Thika Town MP Alice Ng’ang’a that there is a need for money to be availed to enable them to commercialize NYS as this would lead to increased revenues.

The commercialization process is supposed to be done through the development of the NYS Commercial Enterprises, a dedicated Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) that will advance the sustainability agenda.

Fresh approach

Ruto in 2023 said that the NYS had adopted a fresh approach that would transform it into a financially sustainable and self-reliant institution.

The NYS, he observed, had adopted a business model that will not only generate revenues to sustain its programmes but also test its outputs in the marketplace to constantly improve its relevance and competitiveness.

Said Muturi: “This issue of presidential directive is a well thought out idea. I believe that by the time the president makes such a directive a lot of thinking has gone into it.”

He added: “We want to have a body that can engage private citizens. I am glad that the National Treasury has agreed with us on that.”

In his brief before the MPs, Muturi explained that already the National Treasury has approved the policy paper proposing the commercialization of NYS.

However, he said the process is yet to start as they are facing a hurdle with the Attorney General’s office who had proposed that NYS be made a parastatal.”

He said: “I am glad that I took a cabinet memo and it was approved, even the Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury John Mbadi approved the same and we are now waiting for us to resolve a small misunderstanding that we have between us, the AG and the National Treasury.”

He added: “ the AG thinks that NYS should be made a parastatal but the President was very specific that he wants it commercialized so that it can make commercial decisions on its own without having to go through many processes.”

Tembur told the MPs that the service will not be able to recruit the additional 20,000 as per Ruto’s directive.

Sh15b deficit

He said: “The FY 2025/26 Budget Estimate as provided in the BPS has a deficit of Sh15 billion. This will affect implementation  of the policies, programmes and projects, and consequently the ability of the service to achieve its performance targets.”

NYS, he said had agreed to implement Ruto’s directive by recruiting the 40,000 recruits in two cohorts, a move that he said is not tenable due to lack of adequate funding.

He regretted that the underfunding in the service will make it impossible for them to improve its existing facilities and develop new infrastructure and facilities including barracks, water and sanitation, kitchens and dining halls, classrooms and workshops among others for the recruits.

Ruto, during the NYS recruits passing-out parade held on March 3, 2023 asked NYS to increase annual youth intake from 10,000 to 100,000 annually and become a self-sustaining Government agency by fiscal year 2027/2028.

Ruto also directed that the increase in the youth should be implemented in a phased approach

He said: “The Service has recruited 20,000 youth in the third quarter of 2024/2025 in line with the President’s directive. It is worth noting that the budget for FY 2024/2025 can only accommodate 10,000 youths.”

MPs present said it is regrettable that those who prepare the BPS reports do not take the directives of the president seriously.

Ng’ang’a said there is a need for the department to be well funded to ensure that more youths are recruited.

Committee vice chairperson and Kipkelion West MP Hilary Kosgei questioned how Presidential directives are ignored yet previously such directives were taken seriously.

He said: “There is a serious laxity from the Treasury because it seems they are not taking these directives seriously.”