Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua, on Wednesday, August 4, argued that jobs offered under the Kazi Mtaani Programme were not well thought out.
While appearing on Citizen TV, the outspoken governor lamented that the youth hired in the programme were only given rudimentary tasks such as with slashing bushes and clearing drainage.
These jobs, he stated, were not impactful as weeks down the line, bushes would grow back. Instead, he advised the state to spend the money on development projects like construction of roads and toilets.
"The problem I have with the Kazi Mtaani programme is the kind of job the people are doing. I remember when President Uhuru Kenyatta was asked about getting more debt and he said 'we are not getting that debt for recurrent expenditure, we are getting it for development expenditure.
"Kazi Mtaani should be put for development. Let our youth build something. Let them come and build toilets and roads. Let them build the things that they can walk by a month later and can see it." he explained.
The Kazi Mtaani project was launched in May by the Head of State with a Ksh10 billion kitty set aside.
Mutua argued that as much as it was a good thing to have money put in circulation through the programme, it would have served a worthy cause if the funds were channeled into development projects.
In the second batch of the programme was estimated to absorb 270,000 youth across the country after the suceess of the first round that saw some 26,000 youth secure employment.
Employees of the programme were also set to earn between Ksh400 and Ksh 600 daily wages but over the course of the past month, the programme has experienced street protests over non-payment of the wages.
On Wednesday, youth held a demonstration in Uasin Gishu claiming that they were underpaid after rendering services.
They claimed that on Tuesday, August 4, they were only paid Ksh90 from the total daily way of Ksh450 they were promised.
At the beginning of July, Nairobi youth also held demonstrations over non-payment under the Kazi Mtaani initiative.
More than 100 youth had been contracted for various projects under the General Mohammed Badi led-Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS).
Below is the video of Governor Mutua:
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