We are correcting old mistakes, Murkomen says

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has attributed the problems faced by the Gen Z such as unemployment and lack of economic opportunities to failure by past regimes to plan ahead.

Speaking during a round-table with the media in Meru, CS Murkomen dismissed recent call by retired President Kenyatta for the youth to rise up and demand good governance as misplaced and dishonest.

According to him, failure to plan ahead by past leaders is the biggest challenge that President William Ruto is now facing with the youth demanding for jobs and better living standards.

For instance, Murkomen said, the government is implementing the Affordable Housing programme which aims to increase access to housing, reduce housing deficit and improve living standards particularly for low-income earners.

He said Kenya and other African countries are faced with serious economic challenges because of failure by past leaders to open up industries and expand manufacturing sectors to create employment spur growth.

“The reason we find ourselves in a situation where we have restless young people is the failure to plan a few years ago. The failure to plan 20-30 years ago for this population is the reason we are where we are..,” said Murkomen.

CS Murkomen, who kicked off Jukwaa La Usalama forum for the Upper Eastern in Meru yesterday, said the Kenya Kwanza administration has developed a plan to mitigate against youth unemployment among other things.

He said: “When we now tell our young people rise up and save your country, it is incumbent upon a person of the stature of a former President to first acknowledge that we failed in the past, that we failed to plan for you, therefore, forgive us.”

“You cannot feign ignorance that you are not part of those who  created the problem bedeviling young people at the moment, so the first step is to  acknowledge your failure,” he said.

“It is also important to tell the youth the truth, that as a nation, we must work harder, contribute more to avoid us falling in the same pitfalls in another 20-30 years and that will take a lot of sacrifice,” he said.

He said leaders should stop misleading the youth for short-term political gain.

“The current administration is trying to come up with mechanism to address this problem and it comes with a sacrifice, and what is this sacrifice, it comes in the form of Affordable Housing so that you can have build and correct the mistakes of the past and hand a better future for our young people,” he said.

“When you tell them rise up, you must also tell them it has a cost and the cost is more than  just demonstrations, it means you must work and sweat and those who have jobs must pay more; it involves taxes, so you expect a balanced information,” he stated.

He challenged President Kenyatta and other past leaders to show Kenyans what they did for the youth when they were in the office.

“The message alone of telling the youth to rise up is an harmless but in the context of what role you have played over time, I would expect a person in the level of a former President to say I did this and that or to say I know how difficult it is to cause changes in this sector so please support your president and government,” he stated.

Delivering the keynote address at the annual second Guild leader’s Summit at Makerere University in Kampala recently President Kenyatta asked the youth to embrace their role as the freedom fighters of this era.

“You have the numbers, you have the time and energy to get involved and effect the changes you want,” he said.