The Government has called on young Kenyans and other stakeholders to support peaceful, credible and inclusive elections of the National Youth Council (NYC), scheduled for October. The elections, which will be held 14 years after the last National Youth Council polls in 2012, are expected to strengthen youth representation and provide a platform for young people to participate more effectively in national development.
Speaking during a consultative engagement with the National Youth Council Steering Committee at the Kenya School of Government in Lower Kabete, Principal Secretary for Youth Affairs and Creative Economy Jacobs Fikirini said the Government was committed to supporting the electoral process. Fikirini said the elections would provide young people with functional structures through which they can articulate their interests and participate in decision-making.
“We may be late, but better late than never. We have to do this election so that our young people can get proper structures of representation,” Fikirini said.
He urged youth leaders and administrators at both national and county levels to actively participate in preparations for the elections and ensure young people are adequately informed about the process. The PS also called on young Kenyans to maintain peace before, during and after the elections, saying political differences should not undermine national cohesion.
“Let’s speak peace, let’s spread the message of peace to the young people,” he said.
According to Fikirini, a functional National Youth Council would strengthen Kenya’s participation in regional youth platforms, including those under the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).
Government highlights youth empowerment programmes
Fikirini highlighted the National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement (NYOTA) programme, which targets 820,000 young people through interventions aimed at improving access to economic opportunities. He said the programme provides support in areas including skills training, business grants, recognition of prior learning, access to Government procurement opportunities and social enterprises.
The PS noted that NYOTA had adopted a ward-based approach to promote equitable access to opportunities among young people across the country. He further identified Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) as an important pathway for young people to transition from education to employment and entrepreneurship.
Fikirini urged county governments to work with the national Government to modernise vocational training centres and equip them with modern technologies that respond to changing labour market demands. He said the approach would particularly benefit young people from marginalised areas where university transition rates remain relatively low.
The PS also encouraged counties to link trained youth with opportunities under the Government’s labour mobility programme, noting that young Kenyans securing jobs abroad could receive support from the Youth Enterprise Development Fund to meet some pre-departure costs.
Affordable housing creates opportunities for youth
Fikirini said Government infrastructure programmes were also creating opportunities for young people, revealing that more than 5,500 youth had already secured internship opportunities through various affordable housing projects. He said such programmes provide young people with practical workplace experience while exposing them to opportunities within the construction and related sectors.
The PS further pointed to the creative economy as another emerging area with potential to generate employment and business opportunities for young people. He said the proposed Creative Economy Bill, together with reforms in copyright and intellectual property, would help protect young people’s creative works and encourage investment in the sector.
“The creative economy space is very rich today,” Fikirini said.
He added that the Government was seeking to establish a more structured environment in which young creatives can develop their talents, showcase their work and earn sustainable incomes.
Fikirini said Kenya’s growing attractiveness as a film production destination could also be harnessed to create employment opportunities for young people in film, content creation and other creative industries.
He urged county governments to collaborate with the State Department for Youth Affairs and Creative Economy in establishing creative economy hubs where young people can develop and commercialise their talents. The PS said Kenya’s youthful population should be viewed as an economic asset capable of driving innovation, production and national development when provided with the necessary skills, employment opportunities and platforms for participation.
He called for increased investment in youth skills development, entrepreneurship, employment and creativity to enable young Kenyans to take advantage of opportunities both locally and internationally.
My experience with voting in previous cycles showed that voter turnout often drops significantly once the campaign concludes. This particular structure may not hold true for the upcoming contest.