- Most of the youths who turned up for the first of the 16-day exercise were looking for a certificate of good conduct.
- Huduma Kenya has once again partnered with Mombasa Cement Limited, which has already paid for all the services.
Image: JOHN CHESOLI
Image: JOHN CHESOLI
Lack of funds hinders youths in Mombasa from getting jobs because they can hardly afford crucial documents needed when applying for opportunities.
This was revealed on Tuesday when hundreds of youths turned up for the second edition of the sponsored Huduma Mashinani programme at Kibarani Miracle Park.
Mombasa deputy Huduma Centre manager Harrison Yogo told the Star most of the youths who turned up for the first of the 16-day exercise were looking for a certificate of good conduct.
“The good conduct certificate, ID replacement, birth certificate, NSSF and NHIF are the most popular services sought. If you look keenly, these are the documents mostly needed when one wants to apply for a job,” Yogo said.
In the first edition of Huduma Mashinani in partnership with Mombasa Cement Limited last December, which ran for eight days, 5,800 people turned up for the free services like national identity card application, NHIF, certificate of good conduct, NSSF, birth certificate, death certificate, among others offered at Huduma Centre.
In the second edition, the target is 15,000 people, according to Yogo, who expressed optimism they may surpass the target. On Tuesday, at least 800 people who sought various services at the park were served.
Huduma Kenya has once again partnered with Mombasa Cement Limited, which has already paid for all the services, meaning one only has to show up at the park and apply for the crucial documents.
“All the services here are free, including the meals. Some of the services require as much as Sh1,000 service fee, which is beyond most of our youths,” Yogo said.
The certificate of good conduct, for example, requires Sh1,050 to apply.
To apply for NSSF, one has to part with Sh200, NHIF requires Sh1,500 to be activated while a birth certificate requires at least Sh100. In the partnership with Mombasa Cement, these fees have already been paid for.
Mombasa Cement’s Gulam Mustafa said they partnered with Huduma Kenya for the second time owing to public demand.
“The first time we did this, the response was overwhelming. We did not expect it to be that way and so we left out many people,” Mustafa said.
However, he said, in the second edition there is a longer period within which Kenyans can seek the services for free. “We believe that from today to the end of the month on February 29, we will have reached at least 15,000,” Mustafa said.
Nicholas Otieno, an officer at Mombasa Cement, said the second edition of the Huduma Mashinani partnership will help the hustlers in Mombasa.
“Things are tight at the moment, so when someone offers to pay for a service you need you will automatically jump at the opportunity,” Otieno said.
Fernando Bett, a Likoni resident, said he has been unsuccessfully looking for a decent job because of lack of a certificate of good conduct.
“I have everything but the certificate of good conduct. I have been toiling to get the Sh1,050 required but every time I get something small, something happens and I have to use the money elsewhere,” Bett said.
Mustafa Asol from Changamwe said he had been denied job opportunities because of lack of a certificate of good conduct.
“If they can go a step ahead and offer us jobs here, we would also appreciate,” he said.
Mercy Nekesa from Likoni said she had been looking for Sh1,050 needed to get a certificate of good conduct.
“With this economy we have today, getting that Sh1,000 is a tall order. Once you get it, you will have to decide whether you will eat, put aside some rent money or pay for the good conduct certificate. So, if someone pays for me that fee, I am happy,” Nekesa said.