Billions of Uwezo fund still lying idle

The youth, women and persons with disabilities have failed to utilise special programmes initiated by the Government, Deputy President William Ruto has said. Youth attending the National Youth Convention heard that out of Sh50 billion allocated for them, only about Sh2 billion had been used. Ruto said both Uwezo Fund and the thirty percent reserve for the marginalised group in government procurement have received few applicants since the two programmes were launched. “It is your responsibility as the youth of this country to come up and demand your share, the problem with Uwezo for example is that we have been receiving fewer applicants. In as much as the government is committed to creating opportunities for the youth, women and person with disabilities, its paramount to ensure that you come out and take advantage of these opportunities. The truth is opportunities won’t come looking for you, it is your responsibility to take an initiative,” he said. Devolution Cabinet Secretary Ann Waiguru who was also present in the convention said the government has created opportunities for the youth but they have failed to fully exploit them. “We were looking at spending at least Sh50 billion on youth related tenders but when we checked we discovered we have spent just about Sh2 billion. This is because young people are not taking advantage of this window. This is why we have organised this convention so that you can tell us the challenges you might be going through and ensure as a government that your issues are fully addressed,” she said
Ms Waiguru under whose docket the youth affairs fall further said the government has increased the budget for the National Youth Council almost six times from Sh60 million to the current Sh300 million. She also announced that for the first time in the history of the country, persons with disabilities will also join National Youth Service in a program set to commence on July 1st. The entire programme is funded by World Bank to a tune of Sh18 billion and is expected to initiate massive reforms in the national youth service.