Sports and Youth at the Backbone of Vision 2030

Young people in Kenya make up the majority of the population. A nation that invested in its young generation is a nation that is destined for greatness.

Giving empowerment to young people in this country is key among the list of priorities of the programmes of Vision 2030. There is a total of 47 Youth Empowerment Centers (YECs) that initiated in 2008/ 2009 by the government and have been completed.

There is a lot of talent among the young people in the country. These talents majorly are in the sporting sector. There is, therefore, a dire need to tap into these talents and develop them. To achieve this, an International Academy of Sports is being set up at the Moi International Sports Centre where land has already been earmarked for its development.

The Ministry of Sports, in the spirit of Vision 2030 plans to establish 47 county sports stadia all around the country as a way of promoting the development of sports in the country. Six youth polytechnics have certificates of completion while another 26 are at various stages of development. A further 36 youth polytechnics were initiated in 2010/11.

There is the Youth Enterprise Development Fund (YEDF) that has already been used to fund 8,650 youth groups through the constituency scheme as well as facilitating the funding of 78,363 youth entrepreneurs through financial intermediaries.

Over 6,000 youth entrepreneurs have been trained and winners of business plan competitions awarded. Furthermore, over 2,500 youth have been facilitated to secure employment abroad, 500 youth entrepreneurs have been facilitated to exhibit in local and international trade fairs and the fund has expanded through leverage agreements between Youth Enterprise Development Fund as well as financial institutions.

Many youths in the country are still unemployed. This has forced the majority of the them to join in criminal activities among them terrorism.

Article by Juma Fred.