Azimio presidential candidate Raila Odinga has pledged to revitalise the Jua Kali sector if he wins the presidential election on the basis of the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) policy.
Odinga says that the program will help to reduce Kenya’s high unemployment rate while simultaneously strengthening the economy.
During a press conference at his Karen home, Odinga cited lack of formal certification as the main barrier to workers’ financial well-being, and laying out a series of steps his administration will take to address the situation.
“I am here to announce a raft of measures that I wish to pursue in the coming months and when in government to help lift the sector to its rightful place in the economy,” said Odinga.
According to him, the policy ensures that knowledge, skills and competence are recognized regardless of how or where they were gained.
This would ensure that the crucial industry, which employs over 16.4 million Kenyans and accounts for more than 34 per cent of the country’s GDP, is formalised.
He further gave a few instances, saying that those who have studied professionally for certain courses are awarded high-paying tenders despite their lack of qualifications, and that they then hire non-certified workers to do the grunt labour for less money.
“If you look at automobile garages, they get little pay due to lack of certification, the owners who have the papers have no skills so they subject the Jua Kali mechanics to low pay. This will also end with the RPL certification,” added Odinga.
This will protect industry participants such as tile fitters, furniture producers and plumbers against middlemen who exploit them.
He highlighted the fact that furniture makers in the country must go via brokers to get their items into the high-end market, where they are sold at high rates but the makers are paid nothing.
It also applies to tile fitters who are unable to acquire direct tile fitting assignments, which instead go to middlemen with papers but no expertise who take the lion’s share of the pay, paying them only a shilling each tile.