Nairobi News

HashtagHustle

Man claims government stole his ‘Kazi Mtaani’ idea


What do you do when you give birth to a baby only for the government to snatch it just after it starts walking?

Those are not my words but the words of Fredrick Omondi Okello who says the government has snatched the Kazi Mtaani initiative from his hands.

KAZI MTAANI

On March 5, 2020, Mr Omondi shared his journey with the Nation about the Kazi Mtaani initiative which he started in 2018.

His idea of Kazi Mtaani was born in 2017 after he lost in his bid to become a Member of County Assembly.

“Because of my rising influence after the elections, I started getting a lot of job adverts on my WhatsApp. I decided to do something useful with it. I created a Telegram channel where I would share these jobs with the members who were mostly from my community. That was in February 2018. I named it Kazi Mtaani Initiative,” Omondi recounts.

However, recently the government launched a jobs creation initiative for informal settlements across the country that is meant to benefit at least 10,600 youths in Mathare, Kibera, Mukuru and Korogocho.

FAILED PROJECTS

The initiative – Kazi Mtaani and National Hygiene Programme (NHP) – was announced by President Uhuru Kenyatta on April 25 as one of the economic stimulus measures for informal settlements in Nairobi, Kiambu, Mombasa, Kilifi, Kisumu, Nakuru, Mandera and Kwale against the coronavirus pandemic.

“Funnily enough, my baby was born in response to failed government projects that are heavily funded but never reach the grassroots to solve unemployment in Kenya. Case in point, Uwezo Fund Scandal, Youth Fund Scandal, NYS Scandal, Kazi Kwa Vijana Scandal,” Omondi says.

“In spite of continued failure, the government still launches new projects because the international community blindly funds the corrupt at the top instead of directly reaching out to the community,” Omondi points out.