A phone call with President Uhuru Kenyatta has lifted the spirit of villagers in Elburgon, Nakuru County during the launch of the Kazi Mtaani programme by Housing Principal Secretary Charles Hinga.
Ann Wanjiru, a beneficiary of the programme could not hide her joy as the PS held out his phone with the President speaking to her on loudspeaker.
"Am speaking to the President? I am super excited. We are grateful for the Kazi Mtaani programme. We request that the period be extended," Wanjiru told the President.
Uhuru in response, however, told the beneficiaries to be calm with the current plans saying this was aimed at reaching out more youths.
"I may wish to have all youths retained but we aim at having the resources reach as many youths as possible matuura moothe (all villages)," he responded.
The young lady received an applause from the residents as she ended the call in the most common "Kikuyu way" hopeful that she will get another chance to speak with the Head of State.
"We have a lot to speak about and wish this could be a one on one or video call. Nitukwaria (We shall talk later)," she said.
The President closed the conversation with a promise that he will soon visit the area and meet the residents for an interactive session.
Addressing the press, Hinga said over 280,000 youth recruited into the second phase of the Sh10 billion National Hygiene Program (NHP) will be trained on access to government procurement opportunities(AGPO).
According to Hinga, many youths continue to miss out on AGPO for perceiving bidding for government tenders as costly, long and laborious.
"We shall have capacity building forums through which we will equip the participants with entrepreneurial knowledge and technical skills such as masonry, carpentry, and welding. This is a sure way of laying a firm foundation for fighting poverty," said Hinga.
The PS explained that the President had directed all ministries to domesticate the Kazi Mtaani initiative to cushion vulnerable persons against financial constraints caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
He called on the youth to form organized groups so as to benefit from community contracting where they can bid for infrastructure projects such as roads, drainage, street light, and graveling from both national and county governments.
He explained that the programme is being implemented in phases to among other reasons minimise crowding and risk of Covid-19 infections.
Stay informed. Subscribe to our newsletter
The Standard Group Plc is a
multi-media organization with investments in media platforms spanning newspaper
print operations, television, radio broadcasting, digital and online services. The
Standard Group is recognized as a leading multi-media house in Kenya with a key
influence in matters of national and international interest.
join