Next government must not shortchange youth 

The next government must keep the promises made during the campaigns to empower the youth including appointments to state jobs. The administration must bring young people to the table - build out opportunities for young Kenyans and create a diverse public service pipeline.  

Appointment of Cabinet, Principal Secretaries, Parastatal heads and Envoys should not fail the youth representation test. 

Most important, appointment of youth will be a good move only if the appointed person genuinely champion the interests of youth, and not the interests of politicians.  

The selection process should be disclosed in order to have a truly talented and competent representative as it will serve as a ray of hope and role model for other youths in Kenya.  

The youth are a large, highly diverse group with differentiated voices. My hope is that appointments all across the board will empower the youth, and not simply be tokenistic.  

Another focus to empower the youth should be the directive to give them public tenders. This has failed to materialise due to lack of a sound policy framework, and the presence of powerful cartels in government departments that are still controlling procurement processes. 

Next government should pay keen attention to youth unemployment and not just consolidation of power when it comes to appointment of heads of parastatals.  

The government should not overlook the youth in public service appointments. Currently, if one looks at the role youth are playing in the private sector, it is clear they are the ones driving the economy. 

When the next president announces a new Cabinet, he should create a ministry dedicated to youth affairs, and a youth directorate to oversee their programmes. 

High voter apathy among the youth is a protest against exclusion and how the government has lost touch with their plight. Considering the role they play in elections, this is not a good political capital for the government. 

Kenya, like many African countries has a huge proportion of the youth as its population. Young people aged 35 and below constitute 78 per cent of the population. However, appointments and promotions in the public service are not commensurate with this reality. 

The common misperception, which has refused to go away over the years, is that youth are inexperienced as opposed to elders who are considered wise and experienced. But leadership is not just about experience. There are other strengths such as focus and creativity that young people can inject in public service.  

 Young people play an indispensable role in re-imagining their communities by constantly taking action for a better and more sustainable world. Indeed, appointment of young people will inject fresh ideas and new leadership needed to build a better Kenya. 

While it is vital to tap into the experience and the wisdom of elders, it is equally important to integrate the vigour of the youth. As the late Kofi Annan rightly noted; “Any society that does not succeed in tapping into the energy and creativity of its youth will be left behind”. 

As a country, we will not make headway unless and until we recognise the enormous potential of our youth. The country has created enough education opportunities and without creating policies that both encourage absorption in the public sector and support of entrepreneurial skills, the efforts will go down the drain. 

The next government must match its words with action, and implement the promises made to the youth. 

— The writer is a Public Policy Analyst — [email protected]