The topic of youth unemployment is more important now than ever before because the cost of living is high, the population is increasing, and rural-urban migration is happening now like never before.
Youth who have lost hope in life can do weird things. Many of them go to political rallies, not for the message but to snatch phones on their way home, maybe break into a grocery shop to pick some foodstuff or boutiques to steal some clothes.
The problem of youth unemployment is not only in Kenya but across the world. In this regard, when they miss the opportunities, they can do anything to survive.
Africa has the youngest population in the world, with 70 percent of sub-Saharan Africa under the age of 30 according to United Nations figures released in 2021.
Read: KNBS Reports 3.5 million Youths Are Idle
Such a high number of young people is an opportunity for the continent’s growth, but only if these new generations are fully empowered to realize their best potential.
Youth account for 60 percent of all of Africa’s jobless, according to the World Bank and the situation is even worse in slums, where according to UN-Habitat report of 2020, over 48 percent of urban crime was instigated by young people from informal settlements.
It is sad to live in a country where a few have a lot and the majority have nothing or have no idea where their next meal will come from. The poor watch the wealthy flying, driving fuel guzzlers and visiting fancy places around the world.
The poor see those in power creating positions for themselves and their cronies, they see the old guard getting positions and yet they are being told there are no opportunities.
Government should provide education and job creation for the youth, come up with policies guiding companies in urban centres to cushion the urban poor and corporates supporting this group should be exempted from some taxes while Technical and Vocational Training Institutions (TVETs) should be built in slums.
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