Ruto launches Climate Works project, targets 20,000 Nairobi youth for river restoration
President William Ruto announces the launch of the Climate Works project to employ youth. The youth will be involved in river restoration, tree planting and the creation of sustainable urban spaces.
President William Ruto on Thursday, September 12, rolled out Kenya’s climate works project, similar to Uhuru Kenyatta’s Kazi Mtaani, as a way of creating jobs for millions of unemployed youth in the country.
Speaking ahead of this year's Plant Day on September 14, the President said young people would be involved in restoring polluted rivers, planting trees and creating sustainable urban spaces.
The first phase of the project will start on October 1 in Nairobi City County and will involve 20,000 young people who will be stationed at intervals along the Nairobi River.
They will be responsible for restoring the river by planting trees along its banks and creating sustainable urban spaces.
“I call upon our chiefs to work with us and ensure we give priority to those people who stay around here. Climate change is a big problem but as a country, we must learn how to create opportunities out of this,” the Head of State said during the launch in Korogocho.
The second phase of the project will later be launched in major cities across the country— including Kisumu, Mombasa, Nakuru and Eldoret.
The youth will also be challenged to come up with solutions to the climate change challenges facing the country.
The launch of the programme comes a year after the inauguration of the Nairobi Rivers Commission and a few months after the government demolished houses built on riverside land.
Dr Ruto said the families evicted from the riverbanks would be given priority in the affordable social housing to be completed in a few months.
He has also warned industries located along the river banks against pollution.
“We need to be deliberate on the management of climate change. Those industries polluting our rivers will be held responsible. They must be able to pay the price of releasing solid waste into our rivers,” he said.
Dr Ruto's Climate Works project mirrors Mr Kenyatta's Kazi Mtaani programme, which the incumbent president criticised and scrapped when he took over State House.
On October 22, 2022, during the launch of the affordable housing project in Langata, Nairobi, Dr Ruto described Kazi kwa Vijana as "outdated" and vowed that house construction would henceforth be the main source of employment for Kenya's youth.
But the housing project, which faces funding challenges, currently offers few jobs to young people, and many sites across the country are idle.
