Ruto: Over 320K youths employed in Affordable Housing Programme
By Steve Ireri, July 9, 2025President William Ruto has said that the government’s Affordable Housing programme has already employed more than 320,000 young people across the country.
The president added that the initiative is a key part of his administration’s strategy to address the growing unemployment crisis.
Speaking from Kilimani, Nairobi, on Wednesday, July 9, 2025, President Ruto said that as of now, more than 320,000 youths are engaged in active construction roles across various housing project sites spread throughout Kenya.
According to the Head of State, these job opportunities did not exist before the launch of the programme, but now offer a lifeline to previously jobless youth, including artisans, masons, and technicians.
“As we speak, we have more than 320,000 youths working under the Affordable Housing programme across Kenya,” he said. “We have over 200 housing projects spread out nationwide. This morning, many young people are already on site, engaged in this work.”
He maintained that the programme was deliberately structured to target unemployed youth and create sustainable income streams in construction and related fields.
“These young people were not working before, because the programme did not exist. But now we have a system that is ensuring that these youth—technicians, masons, and others—have work,” he said.
In addition to construction jobs, President Ruto also claimed that the government has engaged over 180,000 young people through digital platforms and remote employment initiatives, which he said offer new pathways for income in the digital economy.
“We also have over 180,000 youths earning through digital jobs,” he said, adding that another 400,000 Kenyan youths have reportedly been placed in overseas employment opportunities through structured government arrangements.
“The second area of employment is digital jobs, where around 180,000 youths are engaged in various roles. In addition, we have arranged for 400,000 more to be employed outside the country. In the last year, 320,000 youths have been employed through affordable housing, and 300,000 have secured jobs abroad. That is how we intend to create jobs for the youth of this nation.”
Warning against inciters
While addressing the matter, President Ruto strongly condemned leaders who he claimed have been inciting the youth to cause chaos across the country in an attempt to make the government appear guilty for failing to provide them with decent employment.
He insisted that such a direction is misguided, stating that those involved must understand that looting and destroying property only worsen the unemployment crisis rather than solving it.
“But you know, there are people who are inciting the youth to loot, burn, and destroy property. I want to ask—when supermarkets are burnt, does that mean employment has been achieved?”