The Cabinet on Thursday approved a memorandum from the Ministry of Youth and Public Service seeking to submit the National Youth Service Bill 2018 to the National Assembly.
The National Youth Service Bill, 2018 contains a raft of measures aimed at strengthening the operations and management of NYS among them the transformation of the department into a body corporate.
Further, the bill aims at fixing the weaknesses identified in its structure which are a hindrance to the achievement of the agency’s mandate by addressing loopholes in the governance and monitoring aspects so as to curb corruption and other related malpractices.
At the meeting chaired by President Uhuru Kenyatta at State House Nairobi and attended by Deputy President William Ruto, the Cabinet also approved guidelines for the implementation of the affordable housing programme, a key plank of the Big 4 Agenda.
The guidelines address aspects such as financing, costing and design of the houses to ensure quality and affordability as well as establishment of a level playing field for both public and private sector investors.
NYS has been rocked with some of the biggest corruption scandals in recent history. In May this year, 54 people were charged with defrauding the institution of more than sh 9 billion shillings.
The magnitude of the case made Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji to prepare 10 separate files relating to the same transaction in an effort to prepare adequately to prove that the 54 accused persons committed economic crimes.
Principal Secretary for Youth and Gender Affairs Lillian Omollo, NYS Director-General Richard Ndubai, his assistant Nicholas Ahere, former director Sammy Michuki and Finance Director Wellington Lubira led the list of top managers who faced several charges of defrauding NYS Sh468 million.