NAIROBI, October 25, 2011—On Sunday, October 23, 2011, the Sunday Nation published an article under the headline: “World Bank cancels funding for Kazi Kwa Vijana over graft” (page 10). In response to this and further media reports published on the program, the World Bank would like to share the following facts about the Kenya Youth Empowerment Project (KYEP) it finances:
The objective of KYEP is to support efforts of the Government of Kenya to increase access to youth-targeted temporary employment programs and to improve youth employability. The project has three components: labor-intensive works and social services (US$43 million), coordinated by the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM); private sector internships and training (US$15.5 million), managed by the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA); and capacity-building and policy development (US$1.5 million), implemented by the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
The KYEP became effective on August 18, 2010. The first disbursement to the Government for Component 1, in the amount of US$9.3 million, took place on February 7, 2011. This was subsequently allocated to six implementing line ministries to undertake public works for youth: the Ministry of Water and Irrigation, the Ministry of Regional Development Authorities, the Ministry of Roads, Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife, the Ministry of Environment and Mineral Resources, and the Ministry of Local Government, as well as to the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) to coordinate and monitor project activities.
In June 2011, the World Bank initiated a Financial Management Review of the KYEP. This is a standard exercise undertaken for all World Bank-financed projects during implementation. The working draft of the Financial Management Review stated that transactions totaling Ksh 33,061,925 required further validation or clarification from the Government to determine whether they were eligible to be paid out of KYEP funds. The World Bank will continue to work with OPM to review these transactions in the coming days, with a view to determining definitively whether they are or are not eligible for KYEP financing.
Meanwhile, the Government let the World Bank know on October 11 that it wished to cancel Component 1 of KYEP and reorient the resources to other activities aiming to raise youth employment in Kenya. The remaining KYEP components, including support to the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) and to the Ministry of Youth and Sports, will continue, and performance to date under these components has been satisfactory.
