President Uhuru Kenyatta. [Photo/the-star.co.ke]
In the bare-knuckled campaigns for the 2013 elections, President Uhuru Kenyatta promised Kenyans that his government would create 1 million new jobs per year.As his second term takes off, that lofty pledge remains largely unfulfilled with the rate of unemployment still very high.A cocktail of factors has fuelled this high rate of unemployment including a poor business environment, harsh weather, and lack of credit facilities for small and medium-sized businesses.The government reiterated it job-creation promise to Kenyans during Uhuru Kenyatta's inauguration as president.That promise will not be met unless a creative approach to the unemployment crisis is embraced.This will include focusing on the manufacturing sector by crafting policies that will bolster the sector's job-creation ability.Another area that must be looked into is the availability of credit to SMEs.The protracted political uncertainty also needs to be dealt with so as to create an enabling business environment.