At least Sh1.5 billion has been saved through 349 registered Saccos to date under the Youth Empowerment Programme (YEP).
National Youth Service (NYS) Communications Advisor, Ngari Gituku today made clarification on the process of accessing youth Sacco Funds, saying that over Sh1.4 billion have been duly distributed to 286 Saccos distributed across the country.
Gituku was responding to inquiries, he said are being routinely made by a number of beneficiaries of YEP domiciled at the NYS.
He said the remainder totaling over Sh 99.4 million has been set aside for 63 Saccos, 44 of which are in the process of mandatory statutory registration with the Department of Co-operatives and once formally registered, they will qualify to acquire open bank accounts.
A further 19 Saccos have been advised to hasten their pace in completing due process in order to enable the paying authority to transfer the funds. The YEP was launched in September 2014 and entails recruitment and subsequent involvement of willing young men and women at the constituency level in national and community service for a fixed reward of Sh521 a day.
“Of this amount, Sh50 is set apart for lunch daily while the remainder is 471. A third of this, totaling Sh141 is hived off as daily savings and reserved for Youth Saccos for each beneficiary and the programme runs for six months,” Gituku said in a statement.
Upon successful completion of the programme, Gituku said funds are set aside for youth Saccos are channeled directly to the beneficiaries’ bank accounts.
“These funds are supposed to enable the beneficiaries to set up their own enterprises. Ultimately, YEP is aimed at creating a vibrant youth economy, encouraging mass uptake of a saving culture and creating capacity for self-employment among thousands of youth,” he said.
