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"speaker_name": "Mr. Mwathi",
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"content": "Thank you, Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker. I will continue. Probably, you should also be able to bring a Motion to allow Parliamentary Service Commissioners to also address the House from the Despatch Box. I am a Parliamentary Service Commissioner and in the Parliamentary Service Commission Act, I am rated equivalent or above the position of an Assistant Minister. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, on the issue of youth employment abroad, which is a very noble idea, most of the youth are running around looking for those opportunities to go out. But I want to draw the attention of the Minister to the following. If we allow that trend to continue for a long time without creating employment opportunities in our country, then we are going to lose very July 15, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 1823 good and valuable talent. So, even as we look at the employment schemes abroad which are exciting our youth, we should be able, at the same time, to create employment opportunities locally. That should, probably, be created through the Youth Enterprise Development Fund. The Youth Enterprise Development Fund is a very good and noble idea. I do not know whether hon. Members have realized that the banks are also creating other schemes. The moment we go to the bank, and I say this from experience, they now want to deviate the youth from the Youth Enterprise Development Fund and into their own funds, which have equal or slightly higher rates of interests and, therefore, the youth end up taking the money from banks and not from the Youth Enterprise Development Fund. Be that as it may, the point is that, if you go to take money from the bank, you are required to meet so many conditions. The banks are putting so many conditions for the youth to access that money. I lost some time because there were many points of order. When the youth want to access that money from the banks, they are told:- \"As condition number one, you have to have a bank account. Condition number two is that you have to have started a business which is running and, probably, we are able to see the returns for three or six months.\" The Minister is required to put it clearly whether those conditions are as the banks put it or furnish us, as hon. Members, with the conditions that are supposed to be met by the youth so that they can access the Youth Enterprise Development Fund. However, Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, a big number of the youths who should access that money are actually not trained. They do not have bank accounts. So, what they end up doing is giving the youth, who already have money and are doing business, extra money to promote their businesses. That, therefore, means that the youths who do not have any income and are hopelessly sitting somewhere waiting for any help, will continue sitting hopelessly so, until one such time that they are going to put in place a scheme of entrepreneurship training, whereafter, they will be able to access those funds. What I am saying is that we should find a way of helping the youth who are not having any income generating activities, show them how to open bank accounts--- Out of the 60 per cent youth population, another 80 per cent do not have anything to do. Those are the two critical areas. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, as I finish, there is the issue of youth and sports. We also have the Constituencies Development Fund (CDF) kitty catering for youth and sports. I know we are about to form committees for those funds from the Ministry of State for Youth Affairs and Sports. But I also want to point out that we have committees which are running the youth affairs, sports and environment in the CDF. I would, then, therefore, propose that we merge these committees, so that we do not have one running youth and sports for CDF and another one for the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, the other points have been well articulated and I concur with all hon. Members who have contributed. On that note, Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, I beg to support."
}