MY SPEECH DURING THE WAGEBILL DEBATE HELD ON 24TH
MARCH 2014 IN NANYUKI-LAIKIPIA COUNTY
REPRESENTING THE YOUTH. CHIEF GUEST WAS H.E THE GOVERNOR
JOSHUA IRUNGU LAIKIPIA COUNTY
H.E THE
GOVERNOR,JOSHUA IRUNGU-LAIKIPIA, SRC COMMISIONERS PRESENT ALL PROTOCALS OBSERVED,
LADIES AND GENTLE MEN, I AM SO HUMBLED TO STAND BEFORE YOU TODAY REPRESNTING A
TYPICAL KENYAN YOUTH, I KNOW THE NUMBERS HAVE ALREADY BEEN DISSUSSED THEREFORE
I WOULD LIKE JUST TO SHARE WITH YOU THE EFFECTS OF THE ESCALATING WAGE BILL TO
THE YOUTH..
Kenyans in the age bracket 1-30 years constitute 75% of the Countries’
population, forming the largest source of Human resource.
The Economic growth rate has not been sufficient to create
enough employment opportunities to absorb the increasing labor force of about
500,000 annually. Only about 25% of the youth are absorbed leaving the 75% to
bear the burden of unemployment.
Research shows that the youth prefers to work in the private
sector yet the youth make 67% of the adult population currently at about 60% of
the Kenya’s entire population. (Youth book fact 2010) As inferred from the
above statistics, it’s clear that the youth are the largest consumers of
government services.
HERE ARE SOME OF THE
EFFECTS OF UNSUSTAINABLE WAGE BILL ON US THE YOUTH
1. DEBT BURDEN
The youth of Kenya are the bridge between this generation
and the future generations. A rising budget deficit associated by an ever
rising public sector wage bill forces the government to borrow both locally and
internationally. This has over the years raised the national debt close to 2
trillion and as such the youth of Kenya will inherit the debt burden. For purposes of intergenerational equity as
enshrined in our constitution, we must work on reducing debt burden for future
generations.
2. SKEWED PRIORITIES
The youth will lose out on investments in the five key youth
areas on empowerment theses are
-Access to quality Education, Skills development ,b)access
to information c)Access to affordable Credit D)Access to market for their
skills and services and E)technological transfer. MOST OF THIS MONEY ENDS UP BEING USED IN
SALARIES AND ALLOWANCES.
3. UNCOMPETITIVE PRIVATE SECTOR
-An unsustainable wage Bill contributes to loss of Jobs in
the private sector which is the biggest employer of the youth. It’s an agreed
truism that macroeconomics that the private sector is the driver of an
effective economy and consequently national development, the current state of
the private sector is one that can’t deliver Vision 2030 as envisioned in the
Blueprint.
4. INFRINGEMENT OF THE RIGHTS OF THE YOUTH
The governments mandate is to provide an all inclusive
social economic empowerment to the youth. A ballooning wage bill has made it
hard for government to deliver on its mandate as the enabler of the social
economic development as enshrines in the bill of rights.
The spiraling Wage
Bill needs to address to allow the freeing of resources for the youth.
MR. MOSES NJOROGE
YOUTH DIRECTOR
MT. KENYA BAPTIST CHURCH
CAREER COUNSELOR, YOUTH
COUNSELOR, MOTIVATIONAL SPEEKER.
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