Orals East Africa>Kenya eyes World Bank NYOTA to calm angry youth At the hut of the story

Written by Oral East Africa

As Kenya faces a youth revolt, buried in the current budget was a plan to launch a youth project dubbed, National Youth Opportunity Towards Advancement (NYOTA) in a bid to address the country’s bulging youth problem.

The NYOTA project is focused on enhancing employability of the Youth through skilling, entrepreneurship development, financing and promoting a culture of saving to de-risk their livelihoods. It is funded by World Bank to the tune of Kes25.6 billion but in the first year, Treasury has committed Kes2.7 billion which will be spent by the State Department for MSME.

NYOTA, is a word that has crept into street lingo for fortune and good luck, and the Kenyan government and World Bank seem to be attempting to lean on its familiarity to push its popularity among the youth.

Kenya is struggling to find employment for its youth full population risking turning a demographic dividend into a curse. The youth who have come of age are now out on the streets demanding the government addresses their challenges instead of using tax measures to destroy the very economy that should create employment for them.

Despite warming up for talks, the government has embarked on abductions of leading Gen-Z protesters.

“The most pressing challenge in our country at the moment is lack of job opportunities for the youth. This has been exacerbated by the multiple shocks that have hit our economy. In order to empower the youth and support businesses owned by youth and women, I have proposed Ksh89.5 billion for these initiatives. This allocation includes Ksh2.7 billion to National Youth Opportunity Towards Advancement (NYOTA),” Finance Cabinet secretary Njuguna Ndung’u said during his budget speech.

#RejectFinanceBill2024 protests

President William Ruto won the first round in the battle over the Finance Bill, 2024, with his troops marshalling 204 votes to push the proposed legislation past its second reading to the committee stage.

As the Bill enters crucial committee of the whole house stage tomorrow, the President will need his troops even more to push through each clause of painful tax measures against increasing pressure from demonstrations.

The death of two protesters from bullet wounds is also likely to inflame the anti-government protests risking widespread civil unrests if not handled properly.

Predicted chaos

The IMF had predicted unrest could reemerge in connection with protests against higher cost of living, need to raise more taxes, and electoral process supported by the political opposition. It however urged the government to respond by remaining committed to the reform programme essentially locking out a political solution in the event social unrest breaks out.

Kenya’s budget making process is facing its greatest challenge from youthful protesters who have vowed street action despite the government pushing through an unpopular Finance Bill.

The government has committed to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) austerity measures that includes frontloading heavy tax measures on the country to reduce debt vulnerabilities.

But the population has refused, terming the tax measures punitive that would collapse sectors of the economy, raise the cost of living and damn the youth population to unemployment.

As the government attempts to enter negotiations with the youth, programmes such as NYOTA are likely to be key low hanging fruits that will be offered to the youth.