President William Ruto has outlined five key strategies for creating jobs in Kenya.
Speaking at a town hall event in Mombasa, he emphasized that his manifesto is focused on job creation and highlighted specific interventions.
- Housing Program
President Ruto identified housing as a cornerstone of his job creation strategy.
He noted that while Kenya and Singapore enacted housing legislation at the same time, Singapore made significant progress, prompting the need for Kenya to amend its housing laws.
“When I came to office, I changed the law on housing to create the housing fund and housing levy,” Ruto explained.
“This program has the potential to create millions of jobs, not just in Kenya, but globally.”
He revealed that 160,000 people are currently employed in the housing program, which has also spurred business growth in 43 counties and aims to address informal settlements.
- Digital Superhighway
Ruto highlighted the digital superhighway as another intervention.
He pointed out that when he assumed office in 2022, only 320 government services were online.
Since then, he has expanded this to over 20,000 services.
“To create opportunities in the digital space, we are partnering with companies like CCI,” Ruto said.
“We launched the first unit of CCI, which will employ 5,000 Kenyans working for American companies and earning in dollars.”
He also mentioned the establishment of ICT hubs in every ward, supported by changes to CDF laws, enabling youths to monetize their talents. Additionally, over 16,000 computers have been distributed to TVET institutions.
- Exporting Labor
The president emphasized the importance of exporting labor as a job creation strategy.
“I have negotiated many opportunities,” he said.
“I have been traveling to connect Kenyans to jobs both within and outside the country.”
Kenya is signing 19 bilateral labor agreements with other countries, with one already completed with Germany.
- Local Manufacturing
Ruto is also focusing on boosting local manufacturing. The government has been imposing duties on imported goods to encourage domestic production.
- Special Economic Zones
The president highlighted the role of special economic zones in creating jobs. These are designated and declared area, gazetted for the purpose of undertaking SEZ activities while enjoying special economic regulations that differ from general trade, tax and investment rules. The zones can either be public or private.
