More than 700 youths from Murang’a County who successfully completed a three-month National Industrial Training Authority (NITA) grade III course were on Sunday awarded certificates.
The youths were part of cohort five of Murang’a Youth Service (MYS) programme, a flagship county programme aimed at equipping young people with practical skills and promoting self-employment.
Presiding over the graduation ceremony at Ihura stadium within Murang’a town, Governor Irungu Kang’ata observed that the initiative was designed to address unemployment among young people by combining community service, vocational training and business support.
Since the establishment of the program in October 2023, more than 7,350 youth across seven cohorts have benefited from empowering young people with practical skills and promoting self-employment.
“This programme is about restoring dignity to our young people by giving them skills, income and an opportunity to be self-reliant,” said Kang’ata.
He added, “We want our youths to stop waiting for jobs and instead become creators of jobs within their communities.”
The MYS programme is implemented in four stages, where the participants begin with two months of community service, during which they receive a weekly stipend of Sh400 per day and another Sh100 given to the parent or guardian.
This is followed by three months of fully sponsored vocational training offered by local technical and vocational institutes.
The trainees then sit for NITA Grade III examinations for accreditation before proceeding to graduate, where the county administration issues them with Sh15,000 business start-up grants each and one-year tax exemption certificates.
Kang’ata said the positive impact of the programme was already evident in reduced idleness and increased small business activity in various parts of the county.
“We are seeing young people starting workshops, salons, tailoring businesses, and other enterprises. That is the transformation we want to see in Murang’a,” he remarked.
During the same event, the governor also issued cheques to several beneficiaries under the county’s Kang’atacare medical cover, a scheme which targets vulnerable households.
A total of 41 beneficiaries received Sh100,000 each as last expense support, while four couples were awarded Sh10,000 marriage gifts. Eighteen families received Sh10, 000 childbirth gifts, and four students were issued with Sh25,000 school fees cheques.
Kang’ata noted that the Kang’atacare Programme provides free health insurance to 40,000 vulnerable households, easing the burden of medical expenses for residents without alternative insurance cover.
“Our commitment is to protect the most vulnerable in society, from healthcare to education and social welfare,” he note
The governor assured that the county administration is working to renew the contract of the scheme come January next year.
“The Kang’atacare scheme expired in October this year and due to the E-procurement process that was introduced by the government, we had a delayed renewal of the contract. We are committed to ensuring the scheme is operational from January next year,” he explained.
By Bernard Munyao
