Hundreds of NYS cohorts in Chuka demonstrated on Monday in a demand for money they have set aside as savings through the youths agency.
Chuka Igambang’ombe cohorts chairman Amos Mawira said the youths have not benefited from the one-year savings.
“We were saving Sh142 per cohort. We worked for about a year before the money was remitted but those
chosen as sacco representatives cannot withdraw," said Mawira.
"They stopped the programme in the constituency. We want to be given our money so we can start our own businesses."
The cohorts said the Sh1,648 they are given per week
was too little and that they were dependent on the savings.
“When we joined the NYS we had very high hopes that we would benefit from the savings but we haven’t seen any coin to date," said Mawira.
"We want our
savings. We have tried to have our grievances addressed by many relevant offices. We have even written to the area MP but he is yet to respond."
The youths added that they no longer wanted jobs at the National Youth Service as they had turned out to be "irrelevant".
The protest saw them march through Chuka town chanting anti-Jubilee slogans and slamming area MP for failing to assist them.
Cohorts' secretary Morris Murithi said the Sh7.3 million they saved in phase one of the projects was at the bank but that they could not make withdrawals.
“Phase two savings are yet to be remitted yet the contract has been completed. We are worried that our savings may be used to pay others in different parts of the country where the project is ongoing,” said Murithi.
The youths expressed
dissatisfaction with the programme in the constituency saying they did
not
want to be part of
initiatives
tainted with corruption.
About 900 youths benefited from the project in Chuka Igambang’ombe constituency.
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Public Service CS Sicily Kariuki told MPs in August that the Sh926 million savings by the initial recruits under the revived NYS slum upgrading programme was safe.
She said Sh408 million is currently being run by 88 community saccos, while the rest is being held under a special account at the Kenya Commercial Bank.