•Housing and Urban Development PS Charles Hinga over the weekend said he was hopeful the budget will be passed as the house resumed business last week.
•The third phase will be robust and implemented in over 900 informal settlements across all counties.
Image: MERCY MUMO
Over 1.2 million youths who had applied to join the Kazi Mtaani Phase three programme will have to wait a bit longer.
The programme will delay until the supplementary budget is presented and passed before the National Assembly.
Housing and Urban Development PS Charles Hinga over the weekend said he was hopeful the budget will be passed as the house resumed business last week.
The National Treasury had allocated Sh10 billion for the programme which is expected to run until June 30.
“We hope the process will be fast-tracked. Parliament is an independent body and it governs its timelines and affairs,” Hinga said.
During the last Mashujaa Day celebrations, President Uhuru Kenyatta promised the National Hygiene Programme popularly known as the Kazi Mtaani would be continued because it had positively impacted the lives of many youths
The third phase will be robust and implemented in over 900 informal settlements across all counties.
The government in November launched the Kazi Mtaani Registration Website where interested persons were to register for the programme.
KMR is a mobile and web-based system developed by the government to register and manage Kazi Mtaani beneficiaries across the country
The online portal will ensure those interested be registered in a timely, transparent and efficient manner for equality.
The web application will be used to register, process the data received from the mobile application, payments and reports.
At the end of the two-week registration process, at least 1.2 million youths had registered.
Nairobi recorded the highest number with 179,000, followed by Kiambu 78,000 and Nakuru 60,000.
Elgeyo Marakwet recorded the lowest with 8,036, Lamu 8,105 and Samburu 9,679.
Persons seeking the Kazi Mtaani jobs were advised to get the Covid-19 vaccine.
The PS said youths will be involved in other activities apart from cutting grass and clearing of drainages.
He said the government will enrol at least 3,400 youths in the Kazi Mtaani programme to support malaria control efforts across the country.
“On Malaria army we have a programme where we will train and equip you to spray water pools to kill mosquitoes eggs and larva and fumigate homes. In some areas, we will use drones to spray,” Hinga said.
The PS said they will work either as skilled (mason, plumber etc) or unskilled persons.
“You’ll work under a master builder, be trained (apprenticeship), get NITA accredited and NCA certified. After the programme you’ll now be employable,” Hinga said.
The youths will be trained on life skills such as setting up businesses, HIV/AIDs prevention, mental health, counselling and basic skills in masonry and carpentry.
Kazi Mtaani is a national initiative that was launched in April 2020 to cushion the most vulnerable citizens living in informal settlements from the effects and response strategies of the Covid -19 pandemic.
The programme, which started with Sh10 billion budget, employed 283,210 youths in 900 informal settlements across all the counties and enabled thousands of youths to start small businesses.
It targeted those above 18 years and below 35 years.
The programme transformed their lives by creating job opportunities and this has helped reduce the crime rate in society.
Edited by Kiilu Damaris