Mombasa: The Principal Secretary, State Department for Transport Mohamed Daghar, has urged Mombasa's youth to engage with the National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement (NYOTA) project as a means of job creation, rather than falling into idleness and potentially engaging in drug and substance abuse.
According to Kenya News Agency, PS Daghar made these remarks during a NYOTA project stakeholder sensitisation forum held at the R G Ngala Hall in Mombasa. He praised the initiative as a significant step towards addressing youth unemployment amidst a growing youth population in the country. PS Daghar encouraged local leaders to enhance their community outreach to ensure the effective utilization of the affirmative fund provided by the project.
The NYOTA project, a government flagship initiative, seeks to address youth unemployment through practical, inclusive, and results-oriented measures, with financial backing from the World Bank. It is executed through a multi-agency approach, focusing on empowering Kenyan youth via skills development, certification, work experience, entrepreneurship, and savings.
The project aims to build on the achievements of the Kenya Youth Employment and Opportunities Project by targeting over 820,000 vulnerable youth nationwide, including refugees in Garissa and Turkana counties. The initiative's primary goal is to enable youth to learn, earn, and save, thereby increasing their earnings, expanding employment opportunities, and fostering a sustainable saving culture.
PS Daghar highlighted that the project aligns with the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda, which aims to empower citizens at the grassroots level and build livelihoods from the ground up. The project is structured around four key components: improving youth employability, increasing employment opportunities, youth savings and social protection, and strengthening employment systems and digital skills.
He called upon leaders to raise public awareness about the project and mobilize Mombasa's youth to apply for the fund. Mombasa Women Representative, Zamzam Mohamed, committed to leading an awareness campaign to help youth at the grassroots understand the project and apply for funds to initiate income-generating ventures. She also emphasized the importance of providing opportunities to university graduates facing employment challenges.
Additionally, County Assembly Speaker Aharub Khatri endorsed the initiative, advising youth not selected in the initial cycle to remain patient for future opportunities. He suggested transforming the grant into a revolving fund to promote accountability and business discipline. Kisauni MP Rashid Bedzimba supported the project as a means to engage idle youth productively, advocating for sensitisation forums at the ward level.
County Commissioner Mohamed Nur pledged that Chiefs and Assistant Chiefs would lead public awareness campaigns to ensure all eligible youth are informed about and apply for the programme.