President William Ruto has ordered full transparency in the National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement (NYOTA) Fund while defending the fund from graft and favouritism allegations.
Speaking during the Nyota Business Start-Up capital disbursement in Eldoret on January 8, the president claimed that all beneficiaries of the Nyota programme deserved the fund by merit but not favouritism.
In his address, the president challenged anyone who had obtained the opportunity through bribery to stand up.
“I am very happy that there is no one who has been pushed to be here or anyone who has bribed anyone to be here. If there is anyone who has bribed his way to this list, let them stand,” Ruto asked.
The president affirmed that he had instructed the government officials in charge of the Nyota programme to offer full transparency and ensure that the fund benefits deserving Kenyans.
Ruto also criticised earlier youth fund programmes, claiming that they did not have a good, accountable framework and were open to graft, unlike his Nyota fund.
The president claimed that it was difficult to know the beneficiaries of the programme or even know the impact the fund had on Kenyans.
“There was an earlier programme that was run without transparency, you could not tell who the beneficiaries were or know its impact,” Ruto said.
Nyota programme is a five-year, World Bank-funded initiative incollaboration with the government of Kenya designed to reduce youth unemployment in the country.
The programme is supporting young entrepreneurs with business training, mentorship, and Ksh50,000 in start-up capital.
The youth receive disbursement in two phases of Ksh25,000 per phase. In each phase, beneficiaries receive Ksh22,000 for their business operations and Ksh3,000 deposited into their NSSF savings account.
Eligible applicants must be between 18 and 29 years old and must have attained a maximum of a secondary school education (Form 4 level) or below. Individuals with university degrees or higher diplomas are not eligible for this specific programme.
