Uhuru pledges one million new jobs

By Standard Digital Reporter

Nairobi, Kenya: President Uhuru Kenyatta on Monday pledged  his government will  create one new jobs and was targeting  a 7-10 percent  economic growth within the next two years.

President Uhuru also said promised to focus on generating at least one million jobs for the youth through various initiatives that wil see youth and women  access  cheap and affordable loans and supply 30 percent of all government procurement.

To achieve this, the Head of State announced that he will launch Biashara Kenya, an entrepreneurial venture that will enable women and youth access funds for business.

"Our focus is on achieving a 7 to10 per cent economic growth rate within the next two years, leveraging
enterprise as a key factor of production to generate at least one million new jobs for our youth. To achieve this, we will focus on substantively improving the environment for growth in manufacturing, and agricultural
production through equitable access to land," Uhurusaid.

He said the venture will expand entrepreneurship opportunities through provision of affordable loans and education to women and youth to make them competitive in modern urban economies.

 “We will amend our procurement procedures to allow our young men and women to supply 30% of all government contracts,” said the Head of State.

President Uhuru made announcement during the official opening of the 24th session of the governing council of the UN-Habitat in Gigiri, Nairobi.

In attendance were UNEP and Under-Secretary General of the United Nations Mr. Achim Steiner and UN-Habitat Executive Director Dr Joan Clos.

President Uhuru said his Government will focus will be on growth in manufacturing and agricultural production through equitable access to land.

The President said his government will also focus on delivering improved lives for the urban poor through Kenya Slum Upgrading Programme.

“We will extend security of tenure to inhabitants of informal settlements to enable them leverage their land commercially. The Kibera slum, for example, sits on 630 acres of land with a current market value of Sh63 billion,” he added.

President Uhuru said giving tenure to the people living in Kibera will enable them to commercialise their land.

“The programme is aimed at improving the lives of an estimated 5.4 million people living in slums and informal settlements,” he said.

The President also promised to devolve power to the people through Counties.