Youth need a voice in government

It’s time developing nations like Kenya woke up from dreamland and solved the issues affecting young people.

Today, about 80 per cent of Kenyan graduates are jobless. With only one year to the next General Election, leaders will be all over, making promises to the youth.

It is time we looked for better ways to help idle youths, who stand for dreams, innovation, and new opportunities, or simply put, the future. Yet too many of these dreams are today being frustrated.

Globally, youth unemployment is three times higher than that of adults. This is a problem in developing and developed countries alike. The potential of a whole generation risks being wasted.

Creating large numbers of decent jobs for young people is critical for achieving overall development objectives. Globally, 600 million jobs will be needed over the next 15 years to absorb the current number of unemployed and provide job opportunities to the approximately 40 million labour market entrants, mostly young people, each year.

A more immediate consideration for governments is that youth employment could mean the difference between a growth-boosting demographic dividend and a social time bomb.

It is no coincidence that in the wake of the Arab Spring, investment in youth-related initiatives, especially related to employment, has increased sharply.

The Jubilee government had a lot in store for the youth but they have nothing to smile because of they are victims of corruption, tribalism and nepotism.

The youth should not allow leaders to use them whenever it is election time. It is better for them to be represented in key positions.