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MWAMISI: Kenyan youths must not give up, there's still hope

 

Through wind and rain, cold and dust, political talk and drama in Kenya thrives. We are a country where political intrigues ensue daily and are the formula for agenda setting for the people through our media. The opposition continues to spur with the government while they tend to quickly cooperate on matters of mutual interest and benefit.

Kenya is momentarily going through a testing economic retro with a high cost of living. For this reason, the odds of the government getting any accolades for any positives are long. Any bright media traffic is comfortably suppressed by the wild stampede of the undesirable, with cynicism being planted on the fertile ground that is the public gallery.

As the media were retrospectively examining Kenya Kwanza’s one year in power, there were mixed feelings across all strata of the Kenyan society. It was not highly surprising that many people had a lot to say because we are a largely politically enlightened society. Kenyans are fundamentally optimistic, obliging, but also politically opinionated folks, and they took the chance to highlight pros, challenges, their plight and made suggestions about areas of improvement for the current regime.

It is only a few months ago when we had Raila and company ripping through town, with whole howling mobs galvanised through sensationalised political messaging, buoyed by the rising cost of living. It was clear that their main focus was power, and all trappings that come with it, and this is still informing the bipartisan talks held between Azimio and Kenya Kwanza.

The youth were taken advantage of as usual as the opposition tried to push the government to an uncomfortable corner. As David Easton defined politics, every politician will be seeking to have the authority to add value to their lives with money, good jobs, hefty perks leading other targets. In these discussions, youth will always be granted a wide berth.

Life is made up of seasons, as Solomon outlines in Ecclesiastes. A question begs, what will Kenyan youths have achieved in a few years after the dust has settled, when the economy will have improved, when those pessimistic currently get their confidence back, but business will be humming as usual? Azimio will still not lack any opportunity to brand Kenya Kwanza as a rogue regime that requires shutting down and the push and pull will still be sustained, and Kenya Kwanza will equally rebut.

Kenyan youths still haven’t missed the chance to change their lives for the better with many opportunities still existing, and many of them wearing a sense of initiative and still tender enough to learn. When it comes to politics, many of our youths do not drive a hard bargain, being easy to manipulate by politicians and appearing to lack a compass and directedness in their journey of life.

Many people have attributed this to bad politics, joblessness and other issues, but it would be a blooming shame if anyone is to claim that there are virtually no opportunities for youth to optimise with.

Many of Kenyan youths in the rural and urban settings are enthusiastically into gambling. While most of gambling opportunities are digital and accessible via smartphones, the number of Casinos in Kenyan cities has been rising significantly over the past few years, and so has movement inside them.

Pay TV was transformative for the media, hotels –especially midlevel ones- and sports industries in Kenya. The main beneficiary of the Kenyan soccer enthusiasts market is British football, especially. These go hand in hand with gambling business, and the industry is thriving greatly in Kenya as many of our young people continually enrol considering it an easy and laid back opportunity to hit it big.

While the gambling industry is well regulated in Kenya and a source of tax, it has its growing pitfalls such as the wastage of valuable time, financial problems and mental health problems led by anxiety, depression and even suicide.

The probability of a youth attaining economic prosperity through gambling is always low, but the growing entry numbers into the business can be seen as indicators of a country-wide sharp sense of business and determination to make ends meet among our young people.

As someone said, the amateur gambler is simply a contributor to the sport for the professional gambler. On one hand, gambling can be seen as an employer, but the cons seem to outweigh the benefits of it. There are many youths who would be idling in bars and wines and spirits shops taking alcohol, Shisha.

As a matter of fact, many of drinking dens in urban settings mostly Nairobi and environs such as Rongai, Kiambu, Kajiado and Kitengela, have become distribution points for hard drugs. These drugs, some in tablet form, are sold at low cost with some going for Sh10. This is raising addiction levels and many young people are falling trap.

The opportunities provided by the current government, such as the Hustler Fund, programmes to help educate indigent students, in Information Communication Technologies, like digital platforms, programmes supporting agriculture such as fertiliser subsidisation, provide opportunities for our youths to make something constructive of their lives.

The Ministry of ICT improving on connectivity through the WiFi programmes across Kenyan towns will help youths to access online jobs. Again, directing the little funds youths have to cyber cafes and grabbing online job openings is much better than buying hard drugs that put their lives at risk and draw them to crime. Youths should not let their guard down and allow time to pass by failing to utilise these good prospects.

Coming together and registering businesses or even community-based organisations, can help youth harness loans, ranging from Sh20,000  to Sh1 million which is good money considering the challenges of capital many go through. Repayment, which is necessary to raise credit ratings, is only seven per cent per annum charged on a reducing balance arrangement making it 1.5 per cent a month.

It was inspiring to see farmers from various parts of the country lauding the fertiliser subsidisation programme and expressing hope that productivity will be improved significantly in the expected harvest. Youths have more energy than anyone else, and with food security still elusive in Kenya, farming provides a great opportunity for them. A few of Kenyan youths are showing that fortunes can be made out of situations like these.    BY THE STAR   

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