Youth Affairs Cabinet Secretary Hon. Salim Mvurya has called on young Kenyans to reject political incitement and focus on seizing opportunities that can transform their lives.
Speaking at the graduation of 1,800 beneficiaries of the KCB Foundation and Mastercard Foundation’s 2Jiajiri vocational training program, Mvurya warned against manipulation by politicians who, he said, are exploiting youth for violent ends.
“Some political actors are misleading young people into looting, attacking government installations, and engaging in crime. The other day they torched and looted supermarkets, now, where do you expect young people to work if you keep telling them to burn their workplaces?” said Mvurya.
In a veiled swipe at former Chief Justice David Maraga, who recently described the Ruto administration as a “failed state, Mvurya retorted, “Do failed states hold graduations of 1,800 youths into job creation and enterprise? This is a sign that the country is busy building its future.”
The CS praised the 2Jiajiri program as a model for public-private collaboration in addressing youth unemployment. He urged more private investors to develop apprenticeship and entrepreneurship programs that align with Kenya’s demographic and economic realities.
Mvurya also highlighted the government’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), saying it prioritizes jobs, access to capital, and decent housing to lift vulnerable Kenyans out of poverty.
“We are focused on ensuring that every young person has a pathway to economic participation, be it through skilled work, entrepreneurship, or innovation,” he said.
The graduation marks a significant milestone in the KCB-Mastercard partnership, which aims to train 8,500 youth and create over 43,000 jobs.
With over Ksh 1.7 billion in start-up loans already disbursed and thousands of toolkits issued, the program is seen as a critical intervention in reshaping Kenya’s employment landscape.
