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"content": "The fourth issue is health issues, especially HIV/AIDS. One-third of all HIV/AIDS sufferers are young. About 70 per cent of all new infections are found amongst the youth. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, against the backdrop of these critical issues confronting young Kenyans, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports was formed and mandated to co-ordinate and mainstream youth issues in the Government agenda, and to empower young Kenyans by addressing their developmental and socio-economic needs. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, the Ministry of Youth Affairs was established in December, 2005, to champion the mainstreaming of youth agenda in all the sectors of the economy. This year, the Ministry has been expanded to include the sports docket and, hence, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. The Ministry has been mandated with the following functions:- First, to promote youth development by designing policies and programmes that build the young people's capacity to resist risk factors and enhance protective factors. 1740 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES July 9, 2008 Secondly, to develop a National Youth Policy to ensure the Kenyan youth participation in the development of their country. Thirdly, to facilitate the establishment of the National Youth Council to co-ordinate, monitor, advocate and promote youth issues and youth-led initiatives. Fourth, to co-ordinate youth organisations in the country to ensure youth development through structured organisations, collaboration and networking. Fifth, to develop youth resource centres and revive the Kenya Association of Youth Centres. Sixth, rehabilitation and promotion of youth polytechnics and the operation and expansion of the National Youth Service. Seventh, implementation of the Sports Policy. You can refer here to Sessional Paper No.3 of 2005. Eighth, development, co-ordination and promotion of sports and, finally, national stadia management. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, the challenges that we have are as follows:- In spite of the huge expectations from the public, the Ministry faces a number of challenges which need to be addressed. The first one is insufficient transport. The Ministry has only 46 vehicles against an approved establishment of 114. There is, therefore, need to review budgetary allocation to facilitate the mobility of the field officers. Secondly, Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, there is obsolete equipment. The National Youth Service is mandated to undertake projects of national importance. Currently, the department is operating in several marginalized areas. However, the plant and equipment in use are obsolete, having been acquired in the 1970s and are in need of replacement. Another challenge, Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, is dilapidated youth polytechnics training structures. Despite the continuing efforts to rehabilitate youth polytechnics, a lot of effort is required to improve those institutions, both in terms of infrastructure, equipment and curriculum support. The final challenge, Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, is staffing in youth polytechnics and sports departments. Although there have been efforts to recruit instructors for youth polytechnics, the number recruited is grossly inadequate. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, I would now like to highlight achievements of this Ministry, which is relatively young. In spite of the above challenges, the Ministry has endeavoured to discharge its mandate effectively. I would like to highlight some of the main activities and achievements that have been realised so far. One, is the Youth Enterprise Development Fund. Unemployment is one of the daunting economic challenges facing Kenya. The Government has placed job creation at the top of policy agenda in recognition of this fact. The youth defined here are those aged 15 and 30 years constitute two-thirds of the economically active population. The youth account for 61 per cent of the unemployed. About 92 per cent of the unemployed youth have no job training other than formal schooling, hence unemployment is not just lack of jobs but also lack of job skills due to inadequacy of the training infrastructure as well as the means to acquire skills due to poverty. The Government mooted the idea of establishing a Youth Enterprise Development Fund in mid-2006 as one of the bold and radical interventions to address the youth unemployment problem. The objective of the Youth Enterprise Development Fund is to increase young entrepreneurs' access to loans complemented with facilitating linkages in supply chain, creating commercial infrastructure and markets. The Government's commitment was reflected in the national Budget of June, 2006, when Kshs1 billion was set aside---"
}