Government’s plan to hand out grants to two hundred thousand youth, each receiving fifty thousand shillings, is nothing but a costly gamble that fails the test of sustainability.
Ten billion shillings is not a small amount by any measure, yet the structure of this program raises more questions than answers. At the end of the day, the country risks losing all of it without a single meaningful return.
The promise of transforming the lives of young people through grants sounds noble at first glance, but on closer look it is deeply flawed. Ten billion shillings could easily build between ten and fifteen industries, each capable of employing thousands of Kenyans directly and even more indirectly.
Farmers who provide raw materials to factories would find reliable markets, transporters would have more goods to move, suppliers would thrive, and distributors would keep entire networks running.
This kind of ripple effect could support over half a million youth on a permanent basis, with potential for expansion as industries grow. A one time grant to a select few cannot match such long term impact.
Experience already shows us the pitfalls of free grants. Many beneficiaries lack the training, networks, mentorship, and market support to sustain businesses. Money alone does not make an entrepreneur. It takes structures, discipline, and an enabling environment.
Without these fundamentals, the ten billion will scatter into small experiments that collapse before they take root. The government is effectively placing a huge bet on the hope that two hundred thousand small businesses will succeed on their own, yet history tells us most will fail within months.
What makes matters worse is the lack of transparency. We are not told how the recipients will be selected, what criteria will be used, or how monitoring will be done. In a country where public funds often disappear before reaching the ground, this plan risks becoming yet another scandal in the making.
We may never even know if the targeted young people received the money at all. There is a sense of futility here, a sense that resources are being poured out for the sake of optics rather than measurable results.
Bankruptcy of ideas best describes this approach. When leadership cannot design policies that generate value, they fall back on handouts disguised as empowerment.
Yet empowerment is not a onetime transfer of cash. It is the creation of systems that allow young people to thrive on their own merit. It is the patient investment in industries, skills, infrastructure, and markets that unlock opportunities at scale.
If the intention truly is to empower, then let us invest in factories, in agriculture value chains, in digital hubs, in energy projects, in transport solutions, and in creative industries that can absorb the talent and energy of millions.
If we follow the government’s logic, then why stop at two hundred thousand youth. Kenya has at least fifteen million young people. If the answer is a cash handout of fifty thousand shillings each, then let everyone have it. At least then there would be equality in waste.
But in truth, what the youth deserve is not a onetime consolation prize. They deserve to be given tools to work, space to innovate, and opportunities to earn a decent living.
Ten billion shillings, if applied strategically, could have been the seed that germinates into entire sectors of the economy. Instead, it is being thrown into the wind.
This is not just about grants. It is about vision. A country that thinks of its youth as a burden to be appeased with handouts will forever remain trapped in poverty.
A country that sees its youth as the engine of production will rise to prosperity. Ten billion shillings is a heavy price to pay for a failed experiment.
