This archive report was first published on 5 August 2020.
On Wednesday, President Uhuru Kenyatta led the launch of General Unlimited partnership (GenU) in Kenya, a move aimed at empowering young people between 10 and 24 years of age through trainings and employment.
Speaking during the virtual launch streamed on Facebook, Kenyatta emphasized that the programme will give young Kenyans unlimited opportunities to spearhead change in society, recognizing that the youth agenda is defining the times.
“Indeed, three-quarters of our people in Kenya are under the age of 35. The GenU goal is to ensure that every person between the ages of 10 and 24 is either in school, in training, or in employment, and all this by the year 2030,” Kenya said.
The president also revealed that the goals of the initiative are not different from those his administration is targeting through the Big Four Agenda, which is producing admirable results, offering many employment opportunities in agriculture, housing, health, and manufacturing industries.
He urged the youth to create groups and register companies that can be granted responsibilities through the various programmes under GenU.
President Kenyatta was appointed General Unlimited Partnership global head in 2018 and welcomed GenU as a platform that will enable leaders, partners, and stakeholders to make investments that will unlock the potential of Kenyan youth and the youth worldwide.
He further pointed out that his government is already benefiting the youth through projects such as Kazi Mtaani and Ajira digital programme and promised to appoint more youth in his government as CASs.
The current Health Ministry CAS, Dr. Mercy Mwangangi, is the youngest in Kenyatta’s cabinet.
He appreciated that the quality of education in Kenya is comparatively higher to countries in the region, recognizing that Kenya will have a labour force that will compete anywhere in the world.
As a testament to this, the Jubilee administration has always given the education sector a lion’s share of the national budget, with the sector getting 25% in the financial year 2020/21.
