The government has attributed delays in rolling out the National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement (NYOTA) programme to budget constraints.
NYOTA is a five-year transformative agenda by the government, funded by the World Bank. It aims to empower youth by addressing unemployment, income insecurity, and limited savings.
If implemented, the ambitious programme would have seen 70 youths in every ward across the country receive a grant of Ksh50,000 to either start or expand a business.
Appearing before the National Assembly's Trade Committee on Thursday afternoon, officials from the Ministry of Cooperatives were forced to explain the slow implementation of the multi-billion-shilling youth empowerment project.
Principal Secretary Susan Mang’eni informed the Committee that budget constraints had hindered the rollout, noting that the Ministry had secured only Ksh1.2 billion but required an additional Ksh7.6 billion to fully implement the programme.
Her remarks sparked reactions from legislators, who questioned why the government had encouraged young people to apply for the programme without securing adequate funding.
“A lot of Kenyan youths applied for these funds and are now anxious. If you love our youth, could you publish the names of those who have been selected, so that they know whether to keep hoping?” posed Ikolomani MP Benard Shinali.
Aldai lawmaker and Committee Vice Chairperson, Marianne Kitany, also criticised the premature public mobilisation, saying it risked creating false hope among the youth.
However, according to PS Mang’eni, the NYOTA project is a scaled-up version of the Kenya Youth Empowerment Programme (KYEOP) and targets over 100,000 youths with business ideas.
She explained that each successful applicant would receive Ksh50,000, disbursed in two instalments of Ksh25,000, along with Business Development Services training and mentorship.
The programme focuses on youth aged 18 to 29, and up to 35 years for persons with disabilities, particularly those with secondary education or lower, including school dropouts.
“We aim to empower young people through financial support and skills development to enable them to start or sustain businesses,” the PS reiterated.
Mangeni revealed that once the implementation commences, priority would be given to those with secondary education or below, including school dropouts, to start or expand small businesses.
