MPs grill PS over delay in disbursing Ksh50K grants to youths

Mustafa Juma 10th July, 2025 11:09 PM

A parliamentary committee has raised concerns over the stalled rollout of the National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement (NYOTA) program, which was expected to provide grants of Ksh50,000 each to 70 youths in every ward across the country.

Appearing before the National Assembly Committee on Trade, Industry, and Cooperatives, Principal Secretary for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Development, Susan Mang’eni, faced tough questions from lawmakers over the slow implementation of the ambitious youth empowerment program.

The Committee, chaired by Benard Shinali (Ikolomani), questioned why the State Department had encouraged Kenyan youth to apply for the grants without securing full funding.

Ksh7.6 billion deficit

The program, designed to support over 100,000 young people with business ideas, is currently underfunded by Ksh7.6 billion.

Mang’eni disclosed that the department has only secured Ksh1.2 billion but needs an additional Ksh7.6 billion to fully implement the program.

Her remarks sparked sharp reactions from legislators, who questioned why the government had encouraged young people to apply for the program without securing full funding.

“A lot of Kenyan youths applied for these funds and are now anxious. If you love our youth, could you publish the names of those who have been selected so that they know whether to keep hoping?” Shinali questioned.

Committee Vice Chairperson Marianne Kitany (Aldai) echoed the sentiment, noting that mobilising youth before securing the required funds was premature and risked damaging public trust.

Nyota program

The NYOTA program, which is a scaled-up version of the Kenya Youth Empowerment Programme (KYEOP), aims to provide financial support and entrepreneurial training to young people aged 18 to 29, and up to 35 years for persons with disabilities.

Priority is being given to youth with secondary education or below, including school dropouts.

Each selected applicant is to receive Ksh50,000, disbursed in two installments of Ksh25,000, alongside Business Development Services (BDS) training and mentorship support.

“Our aim is to empower young people through financial support and skills development to enable them to start or sustain businesses,” Mang’eni told the MPs.

However, MPs insisted that transparency and timely communication must be prioritised moving forward to manage public expectations and avoid breeding frustration among Kenya’s unemployed youth.