Ruto urges youth to exploit empowerment grants
By Luke Oluoch, January 22, 2026President William Ruto has hailed the government’s youth empowerment initiatives, such as the Nyota Program and labour mobility initiatives, asserting that his declaration to transform the nation was not a mere political pronouncement but was based on concrete plans.
Speaking in Meru on Thursday, January 22, 2026, Ruto said the programme was conceived to reach rural areas and uplift people from all spheres of society in line with the Kenya Kwanza’s bottom-up economic model.
Citing his administration’s achievements in affordable housing and the rollout of the Social Health Authority (SHA), Ruto stated that the NYOTA Program had so far reached 25,000 youths, with a greater reach targeted by the conclusion in two weeks.
Seize the chance
“When we said ‘bottom-up’ is not a slogan, we meant that for it to be real bottom-up, you do not need to know anyone or to be acquainted with any leader. You just needed your phone to be eligible and your effort to apply,” he said.
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“I want to tell you to take this chance to do business. By today we have disbursed funds to many, and in the next few weeks we will reach 125,000. When you get the money, plan accordingly,” he added.
“The money is a grant, not a debt, so you are not obliged to pay it back. This is our way of supporting you. Do not waste this chance,” he told the gathering.
Labour mobility program
Ruto also promised to clean up the labour mobility program under the Ministry of Labour, which has secured employment for 530,000 youths under the Kazi Majuu Program.
He noted that the program faced a significant bottleneck with some unscrupulous individuals exploiting it to con and scam Kenyans.
“We still have a few people here and there trying to derail our efforts. We will put them in their place until we ensure the system is clean for every young person to continue pursuing their dreams,” he said.
Ruto further emphasised infrastructure projects as part of a greater strategy to transform Kenya and realise his dream of moving the country from a developing to a first-world nation—often likened to Singapore’s model.