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"id": 199435,
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"speaker_name": "Ms. Ndung'u",
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"legal_name": "Susanna Njoki Ndung'u",
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"content": "Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, thank you very much. I stand to support the adoption of this Motion and the Sessional Paper on the National Youth Policy for Youth Development. I want to congratulate the Minister because I know that as he was developing this Sessional Paper, he really did consult widely with the youth of all kinds, including the Kenya Young Parliamentary Association (KYPA) of which I am the Chair. Of course, the Minister being as youthful as he is, and his assistant, are also members of the KYPA. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I like the way this Paper is structured. It is simple and clear and even young people can understand it. Also, it is put in such a way that we can see what the Government is proposing to do, so that we can actually assess its performance against its policy. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I want to congratulate the Minister for also being clear about the priority areas, particularly the youth with disabilities, in the streets and those affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic, the senile and unemployed youth because now we can see what it is that the Ministry is doing for these groups for which he has given priority. Let me tell the Minister that we are supporting the policy as young hon. Members of Parliament. Yesterday, we passed the maternity law, which is going to make young women very happy and also the paternity law which will make young men very happy. In fact, I have received a lot of calls from young men who are saying that finally they can hear that there are hon. Members who are speaking for their particular circumstances. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, in line with what the Minister is proposing, this Government, by zero-rating tax on sanitary towels, has really thought about helping the young girls in schools, particularly those between the ages of 13 and 18. I also noticed in the Sessional Paper, that the 4598 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES October 17, 2007 Minister has addressed the issue of the HIV/AIDS scourge affecting the youth. In fact, we, as the KYPA, together with the Ministry, did participate in an exercise which was quite challenging, which was to know one's HIV/AIDS status. It is something which can scare a lot of people and which is also very challenging. However, it is something that must be done. When the youth know their status, they can plan their lives and develop their own goals. I think that the KYPA Members and the Minister, Ms. Abdalla Messrs. Sudi, Magara, Ochilo-Ayacko and myself took that brave step. As a result, we were told that many young people came forward to know their status. This is what is called leadership by example. Let the Ministry of State for Youth Affairs continue to lead by example. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I have heard a lot about the issue of jobs. For me, particularly as we are going into an election, I think that this indicates some significant differences of both sides of the political divide and political parties in terms of how they view the economy. I do believe in the Kibaki Government, that the creation of jobs is not to develop jobs of eight to five in Government offices. It is not for the Government to employ youth to build roads. What the Kibaki Government has done is to take money and to give it to the youth and say: \"Start your business\". It is not creating one job, but creating many job opportunities. However, the message that the Ministry must send to the youth is that jobs are not to be given, they are to be created. I think we can do away with this myth that the President did not deliver his 500,000 job opportunities as he promised. In fact, at this time of the second phase of the YEDF, in every constituency, there are thousands of youth groups that have started youth businesses. This is really a different thing in terms of wealth creation through job creation. It is significant that this Government has established the Ministry of State for Youth Affairs. Our youth are now represented in the Cabinet. I have heard many politicians talking about the improvement of youth, the development of committees and commissions. But this Government has done its best. It has put its youth in the Cabinet through a Ministry. This means that right at the top, positions have been taken by the youth."
}