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{
    "id": 1363785,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1363785/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 386,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Dagoretti North, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Beatrice Elachi",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I also rise to thank the Chair and to appreciate this Sessional Paper which is very critical in terms of our population but more importantly how we develop the country. This Sessional Paper now picks the census that we had in 2019. You will realise that this is a nation with a very young population that is very youthful. If you look at the brackets of 0 to 15 years, you will realise they took 39 per cent of the census at that time. This means from that time to date, they are now growing. They need schools and infrastructure. We need to rethink the plan on how we move. Just the other day the ministry was picking data for vulnerable children. We realised that today if there is a place with the highest number of vulnerable children who are all over the streets, it is Nairobi. It is very sad that they are looking for food and anything they can do. There is no field in Nairobi where they can play as everything has been grabbed. One of the things we want to look at even as we pass this Sessional Paper is how do we deal with urban cities, where we have very high population but less amenities for children to play even when they have closed school. Today, the Governor has what we call the Dishi na County. I plead with him that it should continue so that they can come to school, play in the grounds but at lunch time they can have a meal. This is because the Report says we are dealing with shelter. We want to deal with the land policy that everyone must have shelter but you realise those are the challenges that we are dealing with today. More importantly, we want to look at the nutrition of children which is worse. If you look at our children today, I will tell you we are not doing well. In fact, we can have a few of the ministries - Ministry of Health, Ministry of Labour and Social Protection - that deal with protection of children and the vulnerable to work together and look at how we are dealing with children. If we are not careful, by the time they reach their productive age, we shall have more children in crime than those who are supposed to take over the country. The other day there was a documentary in London after COVID-19. Kenya also faces the same challenge that we have children who never went back to school after COVID-19. Today, in one of the eastern sides of London, you cannot walk, because children below 14 are the ones who are mugging, walking with knives and terrorising citizens there. They were talking about it and I am like, yes, it is happening in London and London is coming to give Kenya money but it is also happening in our country. If you are in my constituency at around midnight, you will still find children on the streets. What are they doing now to ensure they are dealing with children who will not commit crimes, yet we do not have juvenile courts? I support this Report. I have looked at the demographic, how it talks about resources and all these things we need to do. The first thing we must safeguard are the children of Kenya, especially the children of Nairobi. I finalise by telling my Governor, Hon. Sakaja, that it is time for him to look at what is happening in Nairobi, especially at night. He must close some of the bars that I see all over that are terrorising us. With those few remarks, Hon. Temporary Speaker, I beg to support the Motion."
}