President William Ruto scrapped off Kazi Mtaani Programme during the groundbreaking of Soweto East Zone B Social Housing, Kibra, Nairobi County.
Speaking on Tuesday, October 25, the Head-of-State vowed to include the youth to contribute towards the affordable housing plan in the country through the Juakali industry.
"Kazi Mtaani is outdated now, the work now is building these houses, and the first people to get jobs in this project will be from Kibra," Ruto stated, adding that the number of youths being employed under the kazi mtaani program was minimal.
" The 500 youths per ward hired in the Kazi Mtaani program will be used to construct these homes. You asked for job opportunities, here they are," Ruto added.
By abolishing Kazi Mtaani program, Ruto argued that his latest move was meant to empower the Juakali industry.
Also, Ruto promised to allocate 40 per cent of the affordable housing work to small businesses.
"The urbanization rate in Kenya is 4.4 per cent therefore we must ensure our people have good and affordable houses. In Makongeni, we plan to construct 55,000 houses," Ruto stated.
The Head-of-State noted that the government is keen on rehabilitating the informal settlement in the country. He assured residents that the program will not fail as it did before.
Ruto also urged Kenyans to pay taxes to avoid being slaves to loan lenders.
"If the mama mboga can afford to pay Ksh50 to the Kanjo why should the rich not pay taxes? Let everyone ensure they pay taxes, if you notice an individual at your place of work not paying taxes report it to the authorities," Ruto directed.
Addressing a request from a trader in the audience, Ruto stated that the stamp duty will be removed.
"If we remove the stamp duty ensure you pay the rate duty to help run the state. We have to balance issues and we must pay taxes to make Kenya an independent state," He explained.
Notably, the first phase of Kazi Mtaani kicked off in April 2020 as a pilot program. It focused on select informal settlements in the eight counties of Nairobi, Mombasa, Kiambu, Nakuru, Kisumu, Kilifi, Kwale, and Mandera.
It was introduced under The National Hygiene Program (NHP) to cushion the youths from the ravaging effects of the pandemic.
