A cleanup initiative that was launched by President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2014, in Kibera, Nairobi has ended up as the cradle of a scandal that saw thousands of destitute youth lose millions of shillings in savings.
The president had launched the initiative in conjunction with the National Youth Service (NYS) as a solution to the unemployment problem, especially among the youth who came from slum areas.
“3,000 young men and women in Kibera will be engaged in the project where part of their wages will be saved into a fund to enable them to continue with income generating activities after the programme ends,” stated the president during the launch.
Through the initiative, one could easily earn Ksh 450 a day which led to the creation of a body that eventually plunged the unsuspecting youth back into poverty.
The relative success of the project led to the creation of a saving fund named, NYS Sacco, where each member was expected to save Ksh141.40 out of their daily earning.
In Kibera, the numerous young men and women were divided into 16 smaller autonomous villages, each with its own Sacco where members elected their officials and made the mandatory periodic contributions.
“After the NYS project came to an end, we started following up on the savings we had made with the Saccos during the projects. We needed the money to continue with projects (ablution blocks, posho mills and fish ponds) left unfinished when the NYS programme was halted. These were our ideas and we thought the savings would bring them to life and continue being a source of income to the members,” narrated a Sacco member.
The narrative was identical in the Mukuru kwa Njenga slum where members lamented over their money, which they needed to complete their unfinished projects.
“When the NYS project stopped, that was in April 2017, we had Ksh20 million as savings from Milimani Cohort Sacco. The Sacco had elected officials and we handed over everything to them when the project came to an end,” said Cornelius Wesonga who was in charge of NYS project in Milimani Cohort Sacco, Mukuru kwa Njenga.
The chairperson of Milimani Cohort Sacco, Stephen Onyango asserted that they could not refund their members due to reneging in loan payments by the said members.
“We sat with the members and agreed on paying a monthly contribution of Ksh500. When the NYS projects ended, most members defaulted on the payment we had agreed upon,” he explained.
Majority of the members were solely dependent on the NYS job to be able to make their monthly contributions and once the project stalled they simply could not sustain their initial commitment.
With 3,000 youth working under the initiative, the total contributions are estimated to have reached be Ksh152 million during the 18 month period in the Kibera area alone.
In a similar case, hundreds of former NYS casual employees in Kajiado County were up in arms in June 2018 over access to their savings.
Most of them claim to have been subjected to humiliation and intimidation when following up on their savings.
