About 70 per cent of the National Youth Service projects had been completed during the pilot phase disrupted by the Sh791 million scandal, Public Service CS Sicily Kariuki said yesterday.
She said the ministry’s focus is to complete all pending work.
“We are confident the remaining 30 per cent will be done within the next two months before other projects are initiated on priority basis,” Kariuki said. She was speaking during the commissioning of the NYS youth empowerment programme in Kibra.
The CS said as part of the lessons learnt in the pilot phase, the ministry will prioritise high-impact interventions in the national priorities of infrastructure, water and environment.
She said there are 147 operational saccos from the project and the government expects to increase the number to 236 by the end of this month.
“These saccos have made significant savings of Sh980 million, of which we have released Sh408 million to their bank accounts under the NYS,” Kariuki said.
She said the balance of Sh572 million is securely kept in a special account in the Kenya Commercial Bank.
Kariuki said all payments to the youth, including their mandatory daily savings, have also been placed on an automated platform. She said Kibra has 16 saccos, with 3,896 members, who have saved Sh113.5 million.