270,000 Kenyans enlisted for Sh10bn Kazi Mtaani scheme starting Monday
The government on Friday announced that more than 270,000 Kenyans will be absorbed into the National Hygiene Programme dubbed Kazi Mtaani.
Housing and Urban Development Cabinet Secretary Charles Hinga said that those recruited in the programme will benefit from the Sh10 billion budget outlay recently announced by President Uhuru Kenyatta.
“The Kazi Mtaani national technical committee has prepared robust work plans that will see more than 270,000 Kenyans earning Sh455 daily wage and engage in more community and infrastructure development projects,” he said.
The objective of Kazi Mtaani is to provide a form of social protection for workers whose prospects for daily or casual work has been disrupted by the containment policies put in place to limit the spread of Covid-19.
Vulnerable but able-bodied citizens
According to the CS, the programme will be expanded to 47 counties and will employ workers from informal settlements and rural settings
In the first phase of Kazi Mtaani programme, 31,689 Kenyans in eight counties worked in the programme to ensure the most vulnerable but able-bodied citizens are cushioned from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The second phase will be overseen by the County Implementation Committees (CICs), led by respective County Commissioners.
The County Secretaries will act as Deputy Chairs and County Directors of Housing will serve as secretaries to the CICs.
The first phase of the programme focused on informal settlements in counties such as Nairobi, Mombasa, Kiambu, Nakuru, Kisumu, Kilifi, Kwale and Mandera.
In Nairobi, more than 12,000 Kenyans living in Mathare, Kibera, Mukuru and Korogocho were enlisted in the first phase.
They did daily sanitation and environment preservation duties in the respective settlements.