Secrets in Climate Worx, Previously Known as Kazi Mtaani

There are deep secrets associated with the recently rolled out government program Climate Worx, previously known as Kazi Mtaani. Apart from targeting the Gen-Z, there are things the regular citizen cannot know unless you are working in the program. Below is a list of these secrets.

Climate Worx Name Choice

President Ruto’s government changed the name of this program from Kazi Mtaani to ensure it rhymes with the government vision. Ruto is known for fostering the plan to plant one billion trees. His agenda is to contribute to sustainable ways of reversing climate change. Consequently, he needed to rename the youth program to match the work which the program covers. The youth involved performs climate conservation activities such as planting trees, clearing bushes around Nairobi River, cleaning trenches, and cleaning cities’ streets.

Mode of Working

The youth who worked in Kazi Mtaani were given working tools when needed to work in areas demanding the tools. They were also reluctant on attending the daily works depsite being paid. During Kazi Mtaani, the hired youth would barely show up for the register but were still getting paid. Indeed, some would send representatives to answer the register for them. On the contrary, Climate Worx is totally different. The hired youth are expected to use their first payout to purchase working tools including gum boots and maybe a panga, spade, or slasher. It is a serious requirement that the chief ensure that those without the tools are sent home.

On the issue of attendance, there is no ‘maybe’. It is either one is present or absent. The chief discourages representatives and the constant need for apologies. With the new program, those who are marked present are the one who gets paid. The area chief collects the registry data for two weeks, showing how many days a person showed up to work and their corresponding pay, before sending the data to Safaricom for payment.

Targeting Gen-z

Climate Worx program had stopped working for the better part of 2024. Indeed, only a few young people worked on the related programs such as green army. When the Gen-z started protesting on June, the Ruto administration decided to make the youths busy. He immediately reopened the program and urged the Gen-z to apply for the work online. Although not all the Gen-z applied or were selected, most of them got the job. This move was assumed to be a way of silencing the gen-z or rather getting them out of the streets. Keeping them busy is a smart move. I must also admit that the protests ended when this intervention, amongst other that considered the youth began.

Why Clean Nairobi River You Ask

Most people fails to understand the need or point of cleaning the Nairobi River. The term ‘cleaning’ was misinterpreted by the general public because they thought the river will now flow clean water. That was way out of the reality. The right term to use is ‘conserving’ because the activities performed around the river involve keeping the river surroundings neat. The need to clear the bushes around Nairobi River came from the constant cases of dead bodies being collected around the river. People living around the river banks would find dead bodies dumped near the river. Other bodies would be found inside the flowing waters of this river. The plan is to clear the bushes so that there are no hiding places for the killing criminals or places to dump the bodies.

Mode of Payment

Unless you are a beneficiary of the program, you will never know how the employees are paid. The Climate Worx employees are not paid through Mpesa or Bank. No. They are paid through SurePay. SurePay is a Safaricom program primarily set for regular payments to specific beneficiaries. The government works with Safaricom to add surepay method to e-citizen program because most government workers are now paid through this method. Indeed, Inua Jamii, Climate Worx, Helb, County Workers among others are paid through SurePay. To access the funds in SurePay, you must transfer it to your Mpesa. To Transfer money from SurePay to Mpesa, Dial *222# and select My Wallet then Climate Worx, then transfer to Mpesa. Note that you will only get paid through SurePay if you are first added as a beneficiary of the program.

Final Thoughts

Many youths applies for the Climate Worx job but do not show up for the work. They do not want to work. That is wrong and worrying. If you apply for the work, make sure you show up for it. The program only runs for two weeks, monday to friday and then the beneficiaries rest for two weeks before returning. They are paid 500 every day. That is better than nothing. Learn more about Climate Worx here https://www.crsp.go.ke/