When we were in school, we were told to study hard – ‘weka bidii’ because “baada ya kusoma utapata kazi mzuri sana.”
By the time most of us born in the 70s, 80s and 90s, were done with school, it seems the story was “Mtatafuta kazi sana.”
High unemployment rates continue to plug our County and especially Machakos County where we estimate the employment rate to be over 40 percent.
The high unemployment rate has led to social problems in our County Machakos and Country Kenya. High in this is a sense of apathy and hopelessness in the eyes of our unemployed youth and the worry and fear in the eyes of their parents.
The solution to the high unemployment rate will require innovative solutions – such as this XABA platform by Safaricom and Seven Seas, which we are launching.
This is a time to give hope to our youth. President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Government has created an enabling environment that supports youth empowerment. We at Machakos want to take this to the next level for the sake of our people.
The unemployment problem is not President Uhuru’s problems alone or that of my fellow Governor’s and other leaders. We all have to join hands and not just talk about it but do something.
At the end of the year, all companies, small and big from a kiosk to a factory to a bank, are declaring some profits.
I humbly propose and call upon each and every company, organization and institution in Kenya, starting right here in Machakos County, to deliberately create between 5 to 25 jobs as a way of directly being responsible for the fate of our people.
if we do this, the spiral effect in the economy will be such that these same companies will grow and make more many.
If you are a shopkeeper, or mechanic garage owner, distributor, wholesaler, banker, medical center operator, transporter, media and arts practitioner, supplier, contractor. Forfeit 10,000, 50,000, 200,000, a million shillings as profit but know that you have touched, empowered and changed lives and our country by employing someone. Jitolea uaandike mtu kazi – hata kama ni mmoja.
For us to achieve the targets set by our National Government and aspirations of our 2030, we all have to pull together as our President constantly urges us.
Today, not everyone will get a job but we will register you and even give you opportunities for training and whenever a job opens up, employers can find you in XABAand you are interviewed. Each company set up here is interviewing and hiring about 10 people and Machakos University college is registering people for technical training.
Thanks and Congratulations to the Safaricom staff led by, CEO, Bob Collymore, Seven Seas Chair Mr. Wanjuki Muchemi and CEO Mike Macharia, my Machakos Government team led by my Minister for Public Service, Labour and ICT, Hon. Larry Wambua, and to all participants for helping us say, Tunajivunia Kuwa wakenya, not just by public declaration of Jobs, Jobs, Jobs during political rallies but by real, tangible and life changing actions.
Thank you and God bless you.
May 30th, 2015
MACHAKOS PEOPLE’S PARK
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