By Urban Shihemi , October 10, 2025 Hon. Sen. (Dr) Isaac Maigua Mwaura (Cbs), The Government Spokesperson, At The Harambee Annex Media Centre On Friday, 10th October, 2025 Government Spokesperson Dr. Isaac Mwaura today delivered a dual message of economic opportunity and environmental responsibility, calling on Kenyan youth to take advantage of the multi-billion shilling NYOTA Project. Speaking at Harambee Annex in Nairobi on Mazingira Day 2025, Dr. Mwaura underscored the twin initiatives as central to the Government's Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), aimed at immediate job creation and long-term sustainability. The Spokesperson detailed the massive scale of the National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement (NYOTA) Project, a flagship job creation initiative implemented in partnership with the World Bank. "The NYOTA Project is a practical, inclusive, and sustainable commitment to transforming the lives of our youth," Dr. Mwaura stated. "We are directly targeting over 820,000 young people across all 1,450 wards in Kenya." According to Dr. Mwaura, the project is structured around three key pathways to empowerment including On the Job Training which provides practical skills and apprenticeship opportunities, Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) that is Certifying existing skills for better employment prospects and Business Start-up Support that involves Directly funding new enterprises. "We are empowering youth entrepreneurship directly," Dr. Mwaura elaborated. "Each selected youth entrepreneur, with a strong commitment to 50 percent gender parity and the inclusion of youth with disabilities, will receive Ksh. 50,000 in start-up capital, alongside essential training and mentorship." Dr. Mwaura issued an urgent call for applications, reminding the target demographic youth aged 18 to 29 (and up to 35 for Persons with Disabilities) that the application window closes on October 12, 2025. Coinciding with the economic drive, the country is today marking Mazingira Day 2025 under the theme “Citizen-Centric Tree Growing and Environmental Stewardship.” "This is a national call to action for every Kenyan to actively contribute to our environmental restoration efforts by planting and nurturing fruit trees," the Spokesperson affirmed. He confirmed that President  William  Ruto, alongside Cabinet Secretaries, Principal Secretaries, and other senior government officials, are personally leading local tree-planting activities across the country to demonstrate leadership by example. A central element of this year’s drive is the #TurudiPrimo campaign, which directs each local primary school to plant a minimum of 2,000 fruit trees. The seedlings are being supplied through the National Youth Service (NYS) programme, linking youth development to environmental sustainability. "Since 2022, the Government has orchestrated the planting of over 1.06 billion trees nationwide," Dr. Mwaura concluded. "The Government is on track to achieve its ambitious goal of 15 billion trees and 30 percent forest cover by 2032. Today’s Mazingira Day strengthens this commitment, ensuring a greener, more sustainable future for all Kenyans."