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{
    "id": 1439726,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1439726/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 154,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Nairobi City County, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Esther Passaris",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "months down the line, you are diagnosed with something. We have to be humane with our employees, whether they are permanent or interns. When it comes to the country at large, there is a need to conduct a census of our population. It will inform where we allocate the biggest shares of the Ksh2 billion budget for interns. If we realise that the number of unemployed teachers is way higher than the number of unemployed doctors or nurses, you allocate the budget relative to the people who are unemployed. If we conduct a census on the number of unemployed people in our country, their qualifications and work experience, we would not be able to provide the budgets to grow the specific industry effectively. We need to budget based on the training of our population. We also need to guide our population in terms of where we have over-trained personnel and we need more people in a specific sector. Singapore, sometimes, looked at a certain area of their country as they progressed, and they realised that in that particular area, many people were not buying into the development, growth, and prosperity of Singapore. They learnt that in that particular area, the people were professionals. They were either lawyers, doctors or accountants. Singapore, therefore, decided to turn that area into a hub to provide those services. We need to think forward and determine how we would place our resources. We place resources based on the population. We inform the population. There is no need to encourage the training of more teachers when you have two million unemployed teachers and the absorption rate is 20 per cent. We need to look after them and counsel them. You know counselling for future career prospects is very important. As long as we, as a country, do not do that, we will be taking interns that we cannot absorb. Having said that, we need to figure out how to work with the private sector when we realise that the Government can only employ a certain amount. How are we going to make it lucrative for the private sector to buy into the internship programme that the Government wants? What incentives will we give the private sector to absorb our interns? It is bad having 10 million unemployed citizens out there. I guess the Government is looking for bilateral contracts to try to export labour because it has recognised that our absorption rate of the unemployed has been dwindling. We have to make sure that we, as a country, protect the jobs and the corporates have, as we do and pass this Budget and the Finance Bill. People will start moving into neighbouring countries if we do not protect the jobs, corporates, the manufacturing industry, and the financial industry that we have. What does it mean when people start moving to neighbouring countries? With the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) agreement, we will become consumers. Our people will not have jobs. We need to find that balance. I pray that we find that balance. If we do not, we will have a shrinking employment. We will not be able to absorb interns. We will not attract corporate investors and manufacturers. Even our Kenyan manufacturers right now are looking for where they can make the most money. The Government's economic advisors need to start taking off their blinders and thinking outside the box. When you think you know it all, you could be creating problems that will not only affect us now, but also the generations to come. It is impossible to bring back an industry that closes down or moves out of this country. We should have a high retention rate of whatever we have. That is by creating employment opportunities for our people. All in all, this country can only go forward when we move together; when we are sensitised about the needs of our people, and when we listen. That is why God gave us two ears and one mouth. It is important that we listen. I pray that we start listening because Kenyans out there are suffering. We talk about a Ksh2 billion budget for interns because we will need to collect that money. Interns out there, remember we are trying to provide for you when we budget. We will restore and re-engineer the prosperity of this nation the day we deal with corruption. Everyone will become rich. Thank you for giving me this opportunity, Hon. Temporary Speaker. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}