Senate Speaker Ekwe Ethuro has asked wazee’s holding public office to resign and allow youths occupy the office as one way of creating employment opportunities for youths.
“These old men and women should retire so that their sons and daughters can take up these positions. This will help to reduce the high unemployment rate among the youths,” said Ethuro.
He also blamed the high fertility rate among Kenyans as the reason for increasingly lack of employment for youths.
He said Kenyans are reproducing at a high rate, which is worrying. Speaking at Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (MMUST) during a public lecture, he attributed lack of jobs to the high population.
“Hii nchi yetu tuko wengi! Tutapata vipi kazi zote? Let us not blame the government, instead blame the high population growth rate we are experiencing in our country resulted by the high fertility rate.” Ethuro said.
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He urged all youths in the country to use their creativity and knowledge to create job opportunities for themselves as an alternative way of fighting the pandemic.
Currently unemployment rate in the country is nearly 35 per cent, with youths being the most affected, even those having Masters and Bachelor’s degrees.
The Speaker in his speech described youth as a vital input, in form of human capital, that when carefully utilised can boost the economy.
In line with the government’s policy of involving public participation he also asked the youths to work extra-hard to ensure that there is boom in food security as they make up higher percentage, 60 per cent, of the total population and they have the required strength to do the work.