President Uhuru Kenyatta has assured of the government’s commitment to youth empowerment.
President Kenyatta said Kenyan youth possess a wide variety of talents that the government is keen to nurture and develop for their benefit.
He urged stakeholders in various fields including music, sports and the arts to help the youth identify, cultivate and positively utilize their God-given talents.
“We want to ensure that our youth can enjoy the fruits of their talents fully,” the President said.
President Kenyatta was speaking at State House, Nairobi, on Tuesday when he addressed a group of youth who participated in the new talent search show dubbed ‘Jenga Talanta’.
The talent development initiative is sponsored by the Nairobi County Women Representative Rachel Shebesh.
“Going forward, we want to exploit these talents to ensure that they benefit the youth economically,” said President Kenyatta.
He urged the ministries of Education, Sports, Culture and the Arts as well as that of Information, Communication and Technology to set aside funds to support the youth in developing their talents.
The President also said more money should be allocated to the Permanent Presidential Music Commission to help spread its youth training services across the country.
“Rather than promote foreign talents which we see on television, we need also to exploit our own,” said President Kenyatta.
He added: “We have a responsibility to help our youths engage in decent and honest income generating ventures.”
He also urged facilitators of the ‘Jenga Talanta’ initiative to ensure it takes root before venturing to other counties.
“The current participants should be helped to sharpen their talents to the highest level so that they can serve as role models for their compatriots before expanding the program to counties. That way, the program will be more successful,” said President Kenyatta.
By PSCU.