Youth unemployment a ticking bomb

A report tabled in Parliament on the state of national security points to youth unemployment as the major factor to the crime surge.

The report by President Uhuru Kenyatta during his State of the Nation address shows crime increased by 5.8 per cent in 2019.

According to the Economic Survey 2019, the total number of crimes reported to the police increased from 77,992 in 2017 to 88,268 in 2018.

The 2020 Economic Survey that would capture the 2019 data is not yet out but the growth captured in the President's report shows crime incidents are not dropping.

The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics shows unemployment rates doubled to 10.4 per cent in the second quarter of 2020 compared to 5.2 per cent in the first quarter due to Covid-19.

The unemployment rate was also higher than the 4.7 per cent registered between April and June 2019.

KNBS quarterly labour force survey indicates, the highest proportion of the unemployed was recorded in the age groups 20-24 and 25-29, each registering over 20 per cent.

Formal jobs are shrinking daily and our education system must be geared towards self-employment.

But for this to be attained, Kenya must put in place business policies that encourage the youth to pursue self-employment.

Unemployment breeds crime and without addressing the former, no level of policing will tame the latter.