Starehe MP Charles 'Jaguar' Kanyi's private motion in the National Assembly seeking to reduce the retirement age from 60 years to 50 years has caused quite a stir.
The Public Service Commission (PSC), in 2016, announced that 31% or 25,000 of civil servants were above 50 years, which is the approximate number of civil servants who would be forced to retire early if Jaguar's motion sails through.
Kenyans took to various social media platforms to air their candid view on the contentious proposal.
"Am a public servant and 60 years is too much, in my view, 50 is okay," Ragero Julie posted.
The musician-turned-lawmaker argued that the move was aimed at creating more room for the youth to be absorbed into public service, The Standard reported.
“This house urges the government to review the mandatory retirement age in the public service from the current 60 to 50 years to, among other things, create opportunities for the employment of the youth,” reads an excerpt of the motion.
A section of netizens agreed with the legislator's argument, adding that it would be a good move in the long run.
"I think it could really work. Let's say you got employed at 25. At 50, you are more knowledgeable and better placed to create the employment opportunities they tell us about than a 24-year-old fresh graduate. Furthermore, if you have done nothing much by 50, staying until you are 60 won't change much," Jackson Munai posted.
There were also those who found the proposal to simplistic and impractical based on various macro and micro-economic factors.
"It's a populist ideology that has no place in the contemporary world. You do not solve a problem by opening another. He should rather push for favourable policy to spur agribusiness and manufacturing for job creation. There are those who get a job at the peak of their age, and that wouldn't be fair," Brozany Ayacko posted.
