This archive report was first published on 6 August 2020.
Published on August 6, 2020, the Kazi Mtaani youth employment project was a promising government initiative to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.
Dubbed a national hygiene programme, Kazi Mtaani sought to involve young people in clean-up efforts to enhance sanitation in their neighbourhoods, particularly in the slums where pollution poses a grave threat to the people.
The programme aimed to provide young people with a source of short-term income to alleviate the suffering of a people battered by the new scourge.
However, despite its noble objectives, the programme has faced logistical challenges, including delayed payments to workers.
In the first phase, which covered 1,000 settlements across the country, youth workers went for a long time without pay, forcing them to resort to protests to demand their dues.
To achieve its set goals, there is a need to streamline the programme, reorganise it, and improve the performance of project managers and recruits.
With useful lessons learned from the first phase, there is no reason why this ad hoc arrangement cannot be eventually turned into permanent jobs for youth.
