Youth and women groups from Kisii have benefited financially from the Ministry of Devolution and planning to start off projects and businesses.
Speaking on Monday in the Cultural Center, Kisii town while giving cheques to the successful groups, Devolution and planning cabinet secretary Anne Waiguru, asked the beneficiaries to invest in projects that can generate income to enable them get empowered and pay back the loans.
Waiguru said the government came up with the initiative as an affirmative action so that women, youths and the disabled can get empowered and be self-reliant.
“The government is investing in the vulnerable groups in the country to enable them prosper through initiating projects and carrying out businesses. I ask the groups that have benefited today to invest wisely so that you can pay back the loans and empower yourselves economically,” she said while addressing the groups in Kisii town.
“Women and youths are discriminated when it comes to resources sharing and that is why the government initiated the programme to empower them economically,” Waiguru reiterated.
The group that got the highest share is Osweta women group that got Sh.350, 000 while the lowest group, Makutano youth group got Sh.100, 000.
The Cabinet Secretary also said through the Youth Enterprise programme (YEP), each sub-county in Kisii will be given 2 incubators to help those who will be interested in chicken keeping to hatch chicks.
“Two incubators will be given to each sub-county to enable those groups that will opt to carry out chicken farming, to do it efficiently,” she added.
On the other hand, CS challenged the youth and women to take advantage of the 30 per cent provision in the constitution, whereby government tenders are given to the groups.
However, she noted that the main challenge why the vulnerable groups miss out tenders is because of financial hiccups, but promised that the government will be financing them to enable them get the tenders.
“The youth and women fail to get tenders because they cannot afford money to enable them make supplies, and therefore the government has put in place mechanisms to finance them so that they can also benefit from the 30% constitutional provision in tenders,” the minister disclosed.
The women were given Sh.7.95 Million, while the youth got Sh.5.7 Million.
Kisii County Governor James Ongwae promised to closely work with the National Government, but challenged it to provide civic education to the groups, so that they can use the loans for the intended role.
“We fully support the initiative to empower our women and the youth because they are the fulcrum of any society, but my request is that the groups should be educated well so that they can invest wisely with the loans you have given them,” appealed Ongwae.
Others whio were in the event include Deputy Governor Joash Maangi, MPs; Richard Onyonka, Joel Onyancha, Jimmy Angwenyi and Zebedeo Opore among others