Govt has failed on youth employment, laptop project Odinga

Govt has failed on youth employment, laptop project  Odinga

The Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD) leader Raila Odinga has hit out at Jubilee government over the high level of youth unemployment in the country.

Addressing the youth at Matunda grounds in Kakamega County, Odinga said Jubilee had rescinded on its pre-election manifesto to create jobs for the youth and issue free laptops to standard one pupils.

“Jubilee promised to create jobs for the youth but the only jobs they have created were those of digging drainage and building toilets in the name of National Youth Service, which is just an avenue for corruption,” he said.

He accused the government of perpetuating corruption making reference to alleged fraudulent transactions at the NYS as a pointer to a failed bid to end graft.

“You all saw what they did at the NYS. Corrupt individuals resorted to adding zeros on invoices in order to inflate prices of commodities.”

“Good and services that cost Ksh 30,000 were inflated to appear as Ksh 300,000 by the addition of zeros at the end so that those in charge can get away with extra money for their own pockets.”

Odinga pointed at the ongoing investigations against Ben Gethi, who is accused of benefiting from the illegal transactions at the NYS.

“I am sure you have all read about Ben Gethi, a young man who owns houses worth millions of shillings stolen from the NYS.”

The ODM leader was in Kakamega for the launch of a new album by upcoming Gospel musician Papa Dennis.

Despite the current situation, Odinga said there was hope for the youth who should be empowered so that they can take part in nation building.

“When I see Papa, I see an orphan who refused to give up in life. He is evidence enough that there is hope for the youth in Kenya,” he added.

“The youth below 35 years make up for 72 per cent of Kenyan population. We should use the numbers to make a change in how the country is run.”

“I pointed out before that there was corruption at the NYS and Anne Waiguru was involved, but my reports were dismissed. Eventually, everything I said came out in the open. This is the same thing that is happening with the Eurobond,” he said.

“When I brought up the issue of Eurobond, EACC started threatening me with arrests ordering that I record a statement on the matter and provide evidence. They should know that I cannot be intimidated and I will not record any statements because they have all the evidence they need.”

He warned the government against intimidating whistle-blowers saying the real culprits of corruptions and misappropriation of public funds are known.

He called for investigation into the Eurobond saga and challenged the government to arrest the culprits and recover public funds.

He further called on the youth to get national Identification and voters cards ahead of the 2017 General Elections.

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