• Kazi Mtaani was to end on March 4.
• President says young people want programme extended.
The government will extend the Kazi Mtaani programme following requests by young people from different parts of the country, President Uhuru Kenyatta has said.
Speaking at in Kayole, Nairobi, where he was opening a new hospital, the President said youths have demanded an extension of the programme since it cushions them against unemployment.
He said the government will positively consider the request.
Last month, the programme was extended by one month until March 4, following sustained lobbying by beneficiaries. Cohort 'A' workers resumed duty on February 3.
Housing PS Charles Hinga said after the end of the programme in March, some of the workers will transition to projects run by other state departments and agencies.
The initiative was launched by the President last April to cushion vulnerable and jobless youths in informal settlements from the economic fallout of the coronavirus. Beneficiaries are now faced with the fear of the unknown.
The programme, which started with a budget of Sh10 billion, employs 280,000 young people in 900 informal settlements across the 47 counties.
The work done by the young people include tree growing, access road construction, rehabilitation of public facilities, garbage collection and street cleaning.
The initiative falls under the State Department for Housing and Urban Development, which was feted by VIOS during the Covid-19 Volunteers Response Recognition Awards.
In October, the programme won acclaim from Volunteer Involving Organisations for its contribution to bettering the lives of young people during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The World Bank also commended the programme, saying it had helped in reducing crime and drug abuse in the informal settlements.
The programme, the global lender noted, has also reduced youth dependency on other people and improved livelihoods.
"Cumulatively, the funds have helped spur the local economies leading to improved livelihoods for residents of the participating informal settlements,” the World Bank said in a statement last October.
“The benefits accruing from this programme are essential to building the resilience of informal settlement dwellers both during the pandemic and after.”
The government pays the youths a total of Sh560 million per month.
Each earns Sh455 daily, while supervisors take home Sh505, according to the State Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Last week, the Department of Housing and Urban Development said it had disbursed Sh654.4 million to 131,332 workers under Cohort 'A' of the initiative.
Some 131,259 beneficiaries' details matched with M-Pesa and received Sh654 million. Another 62, who are not registered, got Sh302,715.
Seven people with pending active status on M-Pesa received Sh30,485, while two with suspended M-Pesa accounts and two who gave wrong phone numbers got Sh20,010.
PS Hinga said payments had a success rate of 99.95 per cent—the highest since the programme was initiated.
He thanked regional coordinators, county implementation teams, the national multi-agency steering committee and all those involved for the milestone.