Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

top

Kenya

2.3mn jobs created in four years, says CS Rotich

“Our economy has generated a total of 2.3 million new jobs since 2013. 841,600 new jobs were created in 2015 alone,” Rotich said while making a presentation to Parliament in the 2017/18 Budget/FILE

NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 30 – Some 2.3 million new jobs have been created since the Jubilee Administration assumed power in 2013.

Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich Thursday said the economy has thrived over the past four years, with new jobs expected to be created as the economy continues to grow.

“Our economy has generated a total of 2.3 million new jobs since 2013. 841,600 new jobs were created in 2015 alone,” Rotich said while making a presentation to Parliament in the 2017/18 Budget.

“We have laid a very strong foundation for industrialization over the past four years with our economic transformation agenda and we firmly believe it is the right time for Kenya to solidly move to middle income economy status,” he added.

Moving forward, Rotich said the government will modernize leather and textile industrial parks to enhance the capacity of the two sectors and create more jobs.

To this end, Sh1.6 billion has been allocated for leather and textile industries with the modernization of Rivertex East Africa Limited taking Sh450 million.

Further, Rivertex will benefit from an export credit facility from India worth $30 million to enhance its capacity.

The government has also allocated Sh250 million for revitalization of the New Kenya Co-operative Creameries as it seeks to make it a strategic milk processor, further creating employment opportunities.

Special economic zones are also being rolled out through which tax and capital incentives will be provided to local industries to stimulate economic productivity.

Sh18.3 billion has been apportioned for an empowerment programme geared towards stimulating entrepreneurship among the youths.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

According Rotich, a further Sh600 million has been set aside for the Youth Enterprise Development Fund to enable youth running micro, small and medium enterprise secure funding for their businesses.

“I’m allocating Sh18.3 billion towards the youth empowerment programme which will help facilitate mentoring of youths on entrepreneurship, leadership, national values and entrench digital literacy,” Rotich pointed out.

The state has also invested in upgrading sports, arts and learning facilities including a new national library in Upper hill Nairobi to ensure youths are fully engaged in activities that will enhance their skills.

“In order to constructively engage the youth, the government will complete a new library and fully operationalise the Kenya Film School,” he said.

The new library is costing the government Sh2.4 billion and has the capacity to accommodate 5,000 readers at a time.

About The Author

Comments
Advertisement

More on Capital News