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{
    "id": 188262,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/188262/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 194,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Yinda",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 154,
        "legal_name": "Edwin Ochieng Yinda",
        "slug": "edwin-yinda"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, for giving me the opportunity to support this Motion, which I consider to be very important. In this country, the youth are the most misunderstood. They are the most misused and the most abused mainly by us politicians. We use them at will when we want them to fight our battles. As soon as our battles are over, we dump them. I feel very strongly that this Motion is very timely. We should deal with all the issues affecting the youth. When we see what is happening in our schools, where young people are acting in the way they are doing, what comes to mind is simply that the youth are actually crying for attention. The only way by which to help is to ensure that once the youth grow up, finish school and become ready to fend for themselves, we provide facilities for them to be able to look after themselves. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, in contributing to this Motion, I would like to echo what some of my colleagues have said, that we should look at this Motion more widely and probably amend some sections of it, especially the representation, so that we can have all the provinces equally represented on it by Members of Parliament. I am saying this because the problems of the youth in this country are the same, with slight differences according to their regions. I am sure that if we put our heads together, we will be able to come up with a way forward for these young people. I also feel that sometimes the police are too hard on the youth. When the youth are arrested because they react in the way they do--- For example, what happened after the elections was that the youth erected barriers on the roads. They believed that by erecting barriers, they were able to earn a living. I am sure that they did very well during those times, because all of us were affected by those barriers, because you had to pay kitu kidogo before going through them. If we allow that to continue, the youth may understand that through agitation and revolt, they can actually achieve July 23, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 2031 what they want. That is very dangerous for this country; therefore, we have a challenge to come up with a solution to what the youth can do before they take the law into their own hands to achieve what they want. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, my feeling is that the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports can do a lot more to empower the young men and women. I also strongly feel that the Constituencies Development Fund (CDF) Act can be changed, so that some funds from this Fund can be used for poverty financing, and also creation of small enterprises. At the moment, even if you want to help the youth to establish small businesses, you are not allowed to use any funds from the CDF, because of the Act. I request that we look for a way of amending the CDF Act, so that the funds may help in rehabilitation of the youth through creation of enterprises in our different constituencies. The youth are important to this nation and they constitute up to 70 per cent of the population of this country. This is a population that cannot be ignored. I want to support this Motion with the amendments that I and the other hon. Members have stated. With those few remarks, I wish to support."
}