Prime Minister Raila Odinga Friday directed respective ministries to identify and compile estimates of labour intensive projects befitting inclusion to the Kazi Kwa Vijana programme to facilitate funding prospects.

He ordered permanent secretaries to compute all related projects which were factored in the current financial year for purposes of future evaluation and timely disbursement of allocated funds to avert lapses during the implementation.

The premier told the Kazi Kwa Vijana (KKV) National Steering Committee meeting of the need to delink the youth oriented programme from the routine operations of government funded projects ran by line ministries.

Odinga argued that the project could not attract donor funding from development partners and create the anticipated impact unless the initiative was partially separated from the ordinary activities of the ministries.

"The current arrangement of the programme must be tilted to open up avenues to woo donor funding which the government desperately need to inject some impetus that could propel the initiative to greater heights of development in the country" he said.

Casual labourers

The premier expressed fears that the initiative risked stalling due to inconsistencies in disbursement of funds from the treasury and stressed on the necessity to draw a line between normal and the KKV projects.

He also raised issues of policy guidelines in the remuneration of casual labourers under the programme and told the committee to work out modalities to harmonize the discrepancies in wages offered by respective ministries.

Deputy Premier and Finance Minister Uhuru Kenyatta however informed the meeting that preliminary estimates in the current budgetary allocation indicated that at least Ksh 12 billion was set aside to KKV related initiatives.

The meeting which was to review the progress report of the unique programme learnt that at least KShs. 2 billion earmarked for the project but was surrendered to the exchequer at the close of the last financial year would be released for the same purpose.

The Interim Mid Term Review Report indicated that funds allocated to various Ministries were spent on administrative and procurement at the expense of wages.

The committee including cabinet Ministers took note of the occurrence and resolved to bridge the disparities between the wage bill and expenditure ratio to ensure that the programme fulfilled the intended goal.

But deputy Premier and local government Minister Musalia Mudavadi on the contrary suggested that the committee finds ways to harmonize the monitoring and reporting agencies to present a factual picture of the scenario on the ground.

He argued that some of the Ministries were misrepresented due to lack of proper coordination of KKV activities adding that some projects consumed most of the allocated funds on inputs including equipment and materials.

Other ministers Present include Fred Gumo (Regional Development) Chris Obure (Public Works), Ibrahim Elmi (Northetrn Kenya) and water minister Charity Ngilu whose docket took credit for exemplary delivery of the programme.