This archive report was first published on 6 August 2020.
On August 6, 2020, a group representing young people in Nairobi raised concerns over the alleged mismanagement of the Kazi Mtaani programme. The National Youth Council (NYC) delegates accused some government officials of disengaging and disregarding the youth.
The programme, launched by President Uhuru Kenyatta, aimed to support the youth in over 1,000 settlements across the country. However, the youth were promised a pay of Sh653 per day, but this was reduced to Sh450 per day, and they were paid a total of Sh2,275 each instead of Sh4,950.
According to the programme's terms, recruits are paid only for the days they report to work, with the daily rates set as Sh455 for a worker and Sh505 for a supervisor. The second phase of the project commenced on July 13, employing 283,210 young people for 11 days.
The youth are now calling on the national government to pay the dues in full within the next seven days and to investigate irregularities within the programme. They demand transparency and involvement in government programmes such as Kazi Mtaani, which should be run and managed by local youth leaders.
