The Micro and Small Enterprises Authority (MSEA) has intensified its youth economic empowerment programme as part of efforts to curb the growing culture of political goonism by creating sustainable livelihood opportunities for young people.
Speaking during a youth empowerment programme in Siaya County, MSEA officer Erick Owino, who represented Director General Henry Rithaa, said the authority was committed to supporting youth enterprises to ensure young people become economically self-reliant and less vulnerable to manipulation by politicians.
Owino said unemployment and lack of meaningful economic opportunities had left many young people susceptible to exploitation, emphasizing that empowering them through enterprise development would provide a lasting solution.
“The growing culture of political goonism is largely driven by unemployment and lack of economic opportunities. By providing young people with trade equipment, we are enabling them to establish businesses, remain productively engaged and avoid being lured into unlawful activities for financial gain,” he said.
He said the equipment distributed included concrete mixers, salon equipment, generators, motorcycles and other tools tailored to the needs of organized youth groups to enable them to start or expand small businesses.
According to Owino, the programme demonstrates the Government’s commitment to implementing the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) by strengthening micro and small enterprises, which play a key role in job creation and economic growth.
“When we donate business equipment to young people, our goal is not only to keep them economically engaged but also to ensure communities benefit from the Government’s empowerment programmes aimed at improving livelihoods,” he added.
Owino commended Alego Usonga Member of Parliament Samuel Atandi for partnering with MSEA to implement the initiative in Siaya, saying the programme would help address unemployment while reducing cases of political goonism in the region.
He noted that micro and small enterprises account for about 95 per cent of businesses in the country and remain central to the Government’s strategy for promoting inclusive economic development.
The MSEA official added that the initiative complements other government youth empowerment programmes, including the National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement (NYOTA) programme, which seeks to expand economic opportunities for young people.
Atandi said the empowerment programme would be expanded to other parts of Siaya County in the coming weeks to reach more unemployed youth and support enterprise development across the county.
He expressed optimism that equipping young people with income-generating assets would promote self-employment, improve household incomes and reduce vulnerability to criminal activities and political exploitation.
By Brian Ondeng
