Kobia: Boy child has not been neglected

Public Service, Youth and Gender CS Margaret Kobia has played down assertions that boys have been neglected in provision of national services.

The CS said gender-based programs being rolled out focus on creating equal opportunities for boys and girls.

Kobia said it is true women and girls have been empowered for long, hence the accusations the government has abandoned the boy child.

But she said no one, particularly her ministry, has neglected boys and if that indeed is the case, the government shall commission a study to inform interventions.

“We encourage parents to treat their children as equal regardless of their sex. They should provide equal opportunities right from home so that they grow knowing what they should do,” the CS said.

She said youth empowerment programs have factored in both sexes to enable them to take charge of their own life.

The state, she said, has a challenge in tackling the negative attitude young people have towards vocational training.

The attitude by young people that they will get jobs after university denies them the focus needed to concentrate on enterprise, the CS said.

Kobia urged young people to consider as equally lucrative technical careers such as plumbing, welding, masonry and electrical works.

“The government is hiring 2,000 more instructors to bolster vocational training. We are trying to make the institutions attractive,” she said.

“The NYS is another area where we prepare the youth for national service and  for work. After they graduate, they will be enrolled in a one-year national service,” the CS said.

She said there was need to asses the progress made in reaching out to youths with job opportunities.

“Every year, we have 500,000 people seeking jobs. The government doesn’t create jobs but economies do. At the moment, the target is to create one million jobs against a demand by five million.”

She said the ministry will continue giving women loans under the merged Biashara Fund to enable them do small businesses.

“If there is any empowerment that has the biggest impact, it is economic. When women have a means of eking a living, they can go to the hospital as well as educate their children,” Kobia said.