By Edith Atieno, DevReporter, Kisumu County
- The election date in Kenya is fast approaching with different candidates for various political positions promising Kenyans the world. Will any one of them realistically follow through on their election pledges?
Dominating issue in every election season in Kenya is the unemployment rate among qualified citizens.
And in this election period, it seems to be an alluring factor for the huge youth voters, who bear the greatest brunt of unemployment.
Kisumu County’s population comprises of about one and a quarter million people, as stated by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS). Approximately 60% of this is the youth with 41% of them unemployment despite majority having achieved secondary and even tertiary educational levels.
“I sacrificed and discontinued my education to support my sister through University, I hoped that afterwards she would in turn, be able to support our family or at least support herself,” says Violet Awuor a clothes hawker in different kisumu markets.
“It’s really frustrating that two years after graduation, she is still dependent on me as she hasn’t secured any stable job.”
Charles Owino a graduate from Masinde Muliro University says, “It’s evident that politicians are only after the positions and nothing else. It’s just empty promises during campaigns and they disappear after elections. I have made peace with the fact that there are no jobs in Kenya and I hustle like a school dropout to survive.” He is now a bodaboda rider in holo market.
This is just but a sample of many sad stories among the unemployed Kenyan youths.
Youth unemployment has recently become a major factor contributing to a depressed young generation.
To help jobless youth like Charles, politicians are promising heaven on earth in a bid to garner majority of the votes to win the elections come 9 August.
Awuor Mesoh, a Kisumu County governor aspirant’s agenda is majorly about ending unemployment among kisumu graduates. Being a youth herself she is pledging to build a scheme to take in graduates in cooperation run by business owners around Kisumu.
Economists term unemployment as a ticking time bomb and this electioneering period is another chance for citizens to decide if it will explode or be diffused, all by participating in voting.
