President William Ruto has ordered various ministries to fill 30% of their openings with National Youth Service (NYS) members.

PHOTO | COURTESY President Ruto attending the NYS Pass-Out

According to President Ruto, the initiative aims to inspire and motivate many young Kenyans to follow their route to national service and production.

Speaking at the passing out parade for NYS recruits in Gilgil, Nakuru County, on Friday, President Ruto lauded the sector's contribution to developing young people's skills.

President Ruto stated, "I am directing the Ministries of Interior and National Administration, Tourism, Wildlife and Heritage, Environment, Climate Change and Forestry, and Defence, to allocate at least 30% of their vacancies to NYS servicemen and women.

The President of State further announced that future intakes would quadruple the number of people joining NYS.

President Ruto stated, "We intend to increase the annual intake from 10,000 to 20,000 kids while also widening the pipeline of qualified youths into the public and commercial sector and self-employment.

PHOTO | COURTESY Ruto ordered 4 ministries to allocate 30% of job vacancies to NYS graduates

He asserted that young people are crucial to the nation's development and pledged that the government would keep fostering their skills and utilizing their knowledge.

He requested that the Ministry of Water, Sanitation, and Irrigation build at least 100 dams and water pans annually.

The President claimed that employing the facilities, tools, and machines used in construction is intended to improve education, training, and skill development.

The Head of State also praised NYS's intentions to irrigate 720 acres of land to assist the growth and production of maize, potato, and soya bean seeds.

"This is besides teaching critical skills in domains like research, climate-smart agriculture, and aeroponics. It is crucial that this new project works, is efficient with resources, and does not place an undue strain on the budget, the speaker stated.

He said it was optimistic that the service would grow 1 billion trees on 40,000 acres over the next five years, contributing significantly to the national tree planting program.

Aisha Jumwa, the cabinet secretary for public service and gender, stated that NYS would keep empowering youth to build their abilities.

Ms Jumwa stated that NYS had coordinated its operations with Kenya Kwanza development, particularly in infrastructure, housing, and agriculture.

Susan Kihika, the governor of Nakuru, complimented NYS for its contribution to the nation's economic transformation.

According to Ms Kihika, "NYS has equipment that has tremendously helped in the rehabilitation of roads and provision of water in rural regions.