Governor Kawira Mwangaza employs jobless man in viral photo
Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza has promised to employ a jobless man who was seeking a job in the streets earlier this week.
In a post on her Facebook, the first-time governor said the man, who has been identified as Meme Samuel Makamba, should now rest easy since he is assured of a job.
At the same time, Governor Mwangaza urged leaders to fulfill their promise of creating jobs.
“As leaders, we must look into the welfare of our youth and create opportunities for them to generate income as we work towards diminishing the high rate of unemployment in our country,” Governor Mwangaza said.
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The governor’s action comes following a viral photo Mr Makamba walking on the streets with a manila paper pinned with his plea for a job.
“Kindly give me a job. Graduated with Bachelor in Commerce (BCOM), Bachelor of Education (Maths/Business) and Certified Public Accountant (CPA),” the message on the placard read.
Lack of formal employment is a big issue in Kenya, with data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) indicating that many young people between 18 and 35 years have no job despite having university degrees or other suitable qualifications, .
About 36 per cent or 10.1 million of the country’s 28 million population in the workforce are out of jobs amid poverty, pointing to a growing dependency burden.
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The youth are the hardest hit by joblessness compared to those above the age 35 in an economic setting that is plagued by job cuts and hiring freezes on the back of sluggish corporate earnings.
Of the 10.1 million Kenyans out of jobs, 2.5 million are actively looking for work while 7.6 million are inactive, which means they have either given up looking for work or do not need jobs.
The KNBS data also shows that formal jobs created in 2021 stood at about 173,000, signaling a resumption in hiring after economic growth rebounded from Covid-19 shocks.
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