NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 25 – Likoni Member of Parliament Mishi Mboko wants the Parliament to approve a motion to extend the tenure of Kazi Mtaani Initiative launched by President Uhuru Kenyatta.
In a Notice of Motion filed on Thursday, Mboko said the programme had greatly assisted families meet their basic needs following the outbreak of the coronavirus which has continued to ravage the country’s economy leaving the majority of Kenyans with no source of income.
“Concerned that the effects of the COVID-19 are still prevalent and the country will take a long time for the country to re-stabilize. This House further resolves that the National Government rolls out subsequent phases of the Kazi Mtaani programme to cover all the 47 counties to address youth unemployment and further cushion the vulnerable members of society and reviews the current remuneration of the workers in accordance with the Wage Act, 2018,” she said.
The first phase of the programme started in April 2020, covering 8 counties employing over 26,000 workers, while the second phase which began in July 2020 was expanded to cover 34 counties employing over 200,000 workers. It was expected to run for six months.
The second term MP noted the youth have been enabled to sharpen their skills and learnt money saving skills.
“The programme continues to gradually achieve most of its objectives which include among others provision of economic empowerment to the youth, prioritization of labour intensive approaches to extended public works projects and utilization of local suppliers, while giving preference to locally manufactured goods and services,” Mboko stated.
The program was announced by President Uhuru Kenyatta last year and meant to provide social protection for workers whose prospects for daily or casual work had been disrupted by the containment policies put in place to limit the spread of COVID-19.
Beneficiaries are paid a weekly stipend of Sh1,000 by the State Department of Interior and Coordination of the National Government through mobile money transfer.
The government has disbursed Sh1.3 billion for phase one Kazi Mtaani project, Sh2.4 billion and Sh5.6 billion has been earmarked for phase three.
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