This archive report was first published on 3 October 2019.
On October 3, 2019, the Kenyan youth took to social media to express their frustrations with the tough job market, with many claiming it's a challenging world out here when it comes to employment.
Radio hosts Kamene and Kibe sought to understand the employment situation in Kenya, hoping to find a solution to the problem.
They noticed a hashtag #Ilostmyjob on Twitter after SportPesa laid off its employees, prompting Kenyans to share their fears of losing jobs and the struggles that follow.
A caller to the Kiss100 breakfast show expressed his pain, stating that the lack of jobs in Kenya has driven people to other countries, where they take on dirty jobs just to have something.
"I'd rather work in the Middle East, get paid 45Gs and sleep 15 people under one roof than die jobless in Kenya. Furthermore, there's no taxation working in Gulf. Fd up country!!!!"
Another caller, who lost her job at SportPesa, blamed the government for the harsh taxes and the decline of the largest super brand, SportPesa.
"I'm among those affected yesterday, why is the government so harsh on us, why all these taxes, why is the largest super brand dying and everything seems to be okay with our government as if no one depended on it, mtetezi wetu ni nani na wao wanaiba tu pesa zenye tuna taxiwa."
To provide a balanced view, Kamene and Kibe called SportPesa CEO Ronald Karauri, who explained that the company had to lay off its staff due to the new taxation rules, which made it difficult for the business to operate.
"We've been keeping our employees for 3 months with no revenue so we had to just do what he had to do. With the new taxation rules, the business has become tricky. Other online betting companies from outside are not subject to the rules we have been given because they are online. Anyone can download it from their app stores. We've not lost hope in this fight, we just can not support our employees anymore."
One common theme that emerged from the discussion was the need for the government to create jobs as promised in their manifesto during the campaign.
