President William Ruto has expressed concern about the growing number of young people without jobs, saying Kenya must urgently create opportunities for them.
Ruto said the large number of young people he sees during his public engagements is a major concern, noting the need to ensure they have meaningful economic opportunities.
He cited his recent visit to Kisumu, where he said he was struck by the number of young people attending his meetings.
“If there is something that worries me as a leader, it is the number of young people that I see in our meetings. Like today in Kisumu, I could see many young people. Those are things that really concern me; we must think about these young people and what they will be doing for themselves,” he said.
Ruto said Kenya must create enough jobs to absorb the growing youth population, pointing to agriculture and agro-processing as sectors with significant potential.
“We can do so much with our agro-processing. Our agriculture can absorb so much, but we now progressively must move towards a service economy,” he said.
The President said Kenya has an advantage in developing a service economy because of its skilled workforce, citing the country’s education system, English proficiency and work ethic, adding that Kenyan workers are highly competitive globally.
“We are lucky as a country that we have some of the best human resources in the world. We speak very good English. Our education is very good. We are very knowledgeable people. We are very hardworking people, with less supervision,” he said.
“If you ask any company in the world to choose between a Kenyan and a person from any other place, they will tell you a Kenyan is good.”
Speaking on Monday during a media engagement, Ruto said his administration had reduced inflation, stabilised the exchange rate and increased foreign exchange reserves to twice their 2022 level.
“Kenya is the sixth-largest economy in Africa,” he said, adding that Kenyans would ultimately judge his administration by the changes taking place in their lives.
“You can lie to some people sometimes, but you cannot lie to all the people all the time,” Ruto said.
The President also cited infrastructure investments as part of the government’s wider development programme, saying Sh180 billion had been set aside to pay contractors whose projects had stalled.
He said the funds would help unlock road projects across the country, including projects in Kisumu and the surrounding region.
Ruto said about 270 kilometres of roads in the area were being constructed at Sh23 billion, while new projects, including the Ching-Kibos road, had also been initiated.
