Uhuru’s Kazi Mtaani a silver lining for youth in informal settlements

In the last two years, the entire global economy has been adversely disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak.

Lives were lost and the containment measures put in place by governments the world over disrupted the economy.

Kenya was not an exception. Closure of bars, night clubs and dwindling performance by businesses led to many people losing jobs. In addition, introduction of the dusk to dawn curfew led to loss of revenue for many people who ran night businesses. Most of these people were in the informal settlements.

This compounded the previous state of desperate joblessness among the youth. As part of his economic recovery stimulus programme, and to cushion Kenyans against the excess effects of the pandemic, President Uhuru Kenyatta launched the “Kazi Mtaani” programme, a Sh10 billion National Hygiene Programme funded by the government in conjunction with the World Bank.

The National Hygiene Programme was dubbed “Kazi Mtaani” as it gives job opportunities to youths in their local neighborhoods. It was first launched in April 2020 and was designed as an extended public works project through which residents from informal settlements were recruited to carry out improvement works in and around the informal settlements.

The aim was to enable the youth continue earning a living while at the same time improving the face of the informal settlements. Some of the tasks included creation of access roads and pavements, unblocking clogged drainage systems, clearing the road side bushes and general street cleaning. Others are building public toilets, planting of trees, cleaning of rivers and making materials for construction of classrooms.

Besides, the youth received training and got experience on how to start own business, got training on HIV-Aids prevention and were counselled on stress management and mental health. They also received training on skills such as masonry and carpentry.

The first phase employed 31, 689 youths from informal settlements in the eight pilot counties of Nairobi, Kiambu, Kisumu, Nakuru, Mandera, Kilifi, Kwale and Mombasa. It ran from April to July 2020, with the workers earning between Sh600 and Sh650 per day.

The second phase employed 283, 210 workers working two shifts of 11 days a week. Each worker was taking home Sh455 per day, while the team supervisors took home Sh505 a day. This has been injecting over Sh700 million into the local economies every two weeks.

The programme was extended by President Kenyatta on Mashujaa Day and its third phase will run until the end of June 2022. This means the youth will continue earning a living and remain cushioned at a time when the economy has not fully recovered from the effects of the pandemic.

With the programme,  the employed youths were empowered to sustain a livelihood at a time when joblessness and job loss was robbing households of the dignity of a decent living.

Money in the pockets of these residents meant local businesses such as foodstuff vendors and shops kept going, therefore keeping more people afloat. The materials used during the programme such as mud boots, slashers, shovels, masks and gloves were purchased from local dealers, injecting more money into the local economy and keeping more businesses open and more people employed.

The informal settlements in Kenya have been long characterised by undesirable living conditions such as poor drainage and sanitation and dirty streets. Unblocking of blocked drainages and construction of public toilets as well as cleaning of the streets have led to a cleaner environment in the informal settlements.

The youths have been able to save up and open small businesses that will benefit them in the long term should the programme not continue. Some will even leave the programme to build up on the empowerment they have received, paving way for others to be absorbed into the initiative.

With empowerment of the youth, crime levels have and will continue to be reduced as more youth will shun crime as a desperate means of survival. The busy youth have also been able to keep away from the idle practice of drug abuse.

In the 21st century, many would argue that the temporary terms of engagement of the programme is not the best that the government can do.

People are looking for more permanent and sustainable sources of livelihood and the government should explore ways to create more long-term employment initiatives. Initially the programme was also marred by delayed payments which frustrated the workers.

For jobs that were offered through the local chiefs’ offices in the beginning, there were claims of favoritism and discrimination. However, this was resolved through the creation of the Kazi Mtaani Management System, an online portal through which applicants applied for the third phase jobs.

In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Kazi Mtaani programme was a silver lining for the youth in the several informal settlements in Kenya.

Amid job losses, youths were able to keep earning a living and the local economy kept going.