President William Ruto has rejected concerns about his direct role in the launch of the National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement (NYOTA) capital programme, saying it is a youth transformative tool that will help youth employment and financial inclusion.
In separate occasions in Mandera and Wajir counties, the President indicated that NYOTA is a major programme in his administration, and 120, 000 young people have so far benefited from the programme.
The President held youth in Mandera County, issuing the releases of Sh63 million to 2, 520 young people from the county. He noted that the move was representative of the governments making youth empowerment, entrepreneurship, and sustainable employment the key agenda.
“This programme revolves around giving young people the chance to become independent, to start companies, and to be an economically productive class of society,” said the President.
He further added that youth empowerment is one of the main pillars of his administrations development agenda.
An earlier statement from him emphasized that youth empowerment is one of the fundamental pillars of his administration’s development agenda.
He pointed out that specially targeted funding as well as skills development are vital to solving the problem of unemployment in the country.
In the evening at Wajir County, President Ruto wrapped up the first phase of NYOTA’s disbursement by presenting startup capital to 2, 540 young people at Wajir Stadium.
He disclosed that, in total, 120, 000 young people from all over the country have already been given money through the program.
Officials who participated in the ceremonies encouraged the beneficiaries to be prudent in the use of the funds, to invest in sound businesses, and to expand their businesses in order to create more job opportunities in their respective communities.
As part of the overall strategy to boost the economy at the grassroots level, the government is planning to support a total of 820, 000 young people nationwide through the NYOTA programme with the main target being the unemployed youth and Form Four leavers.