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{
"id": 199455,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/199455/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Dr. Kuti",
"speaker_title": "The Minister of State For Youth Affairs",
"speaker": {
"id": 60,
"legal_name": "Mohammed Abdi Kuti",
"slug": "mohammed-kuti"
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"content": " Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like to be very grateful to all the hon. Members who have contributed and supported this Motion. As you can see, this Motion has received support from both sides of the House and this is because the problems of the youth face every hon. Member in his constituency. All of us have the urge that something positive and genuine needs to be put in place to reverse the trend of issues affecting our young people in all parts of the country. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I will briefly run over the issues that were raised. There was the issue of past initiatives. There was the issue of initiatives even in the past and why they have not been highlighted and why they did not succeed. That is because in the past, youth issues were handled by departments or divisions in various Ministries. So, you will find health issues being handled by the Ministry of Health while issues on environment were being handled by the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, while employment matters were being handled by the Ministry of Labour and Human Resource Development. Those were not well co-ordinated and there was no inter-relation in terms of implementing those programmes. The fact that all youth issues have now been brought under one Ministry, will make a lot of difference in impacting positively on reversing the negative challenges facing young people. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, regarding the issue of the Youth Enterprise Development Fund as relates to training, I would like to very clearly say that, right from the time the Fund was put in place, we have partnered with organizations that provide entrepreneurial training. As of now, about 150 Training of Trainers (ToTs) have been trained by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and posted to all the districts so that before the youth access the Fund, even the Kshs1 million in the constituency, they are supposed to undergo a training which will be conducted by the youth officers utilising those ToTs. Also, for the Fund that is channelled through the micro-finance institutions, I would like to state that 1 per cent of the 8 per cent interest charged, is to be utilised by those micro-finance institutions to conduct entrepreneurial training like book-keeping. So, training has been a very major component of the disbursement of this Fund. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, regarding the issue of using young people to build roads, there is 4604 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES October 17, 2007 an inter-Ministerial committee that is now looking into it. We already have a pilot project where 2,000 young people are planting trees in collaboration with the Ministry of Environmental and Natural Resources. They will take care of those trees and they will earn Kshs3,000 per month for as long as that tree is able to sustain itself. Also they undergo training so that they save that money so that by the time the tree is on its own, the young person has also saved enough to start a business. Also, the training that he or she has received will help him or her start the business. Regarding the issue of youth polytechnics, this is an area where we have put a lot of focus because we know that 92 per cent of the unemployed youth are unemployed mainly because they do not have skills. The literacy level in Kenya is high but skills are lacking. So, the only way is to impact skills through the revival of youth polytechnics. In collaboration with UNDP, we have brought a new curriculum for youth polytechnics. That curriculum will enable even a Form Four graduate to proceed all the way to the university from the youth polytechnics. They will get Diploma, a Higher National Diploma and through that channel they would proceed to universities and even study for engineering courses. This curriculum is now developed and is in place. We have also changed the management of youth polytechnics. In the past, they were managed by very poorly qualified personnel because they were supported by the communities. But now we are taking over the management and we are putting in qualified managers and we are also posting instructors. We are slowly phasing out those who do not have diplomas in their field of instruction. If the instructor does not have a diploma, in the next three years, they will all be phased out. We have given them three years to upgrade themselves so that we have qualified instructors and managers so that the graduates of youth polytechnics can produce graduates who can access the market. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, right now, youth polytechnics are not popular because the products they produce do not access the market. So, you may qualify and not be able to get any gainful employment. In youth polytechnics curriculum, we have put technical training alongside entrepreneurial training. So, the graduates will not only have the certificate as a mechanic going round and looking for a job, but he or she will also be having entrepreneurial skills. Also the Youth Enterprise Development Fund is available so when he or she qualifies, then he or she could put the entrepreneurial and technical skills into business so that we convert him or her from a job seeker to a job creator. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, regarding the issue of international jobs, which was raised here, I would like to report that a team of officials from my Ministry, headed by the Permanent Secretary (PS), has returned into country from the Philippines. For the information of hon. Members, out of every ten Filipinos, one works in a foreign country. The Philippine Government has a well- structured programme, through which it sends skilled personnel outside the country, where they get jobs. The team has come back with very positive results. We have already sent 1,720 young people to the Gulf States. We have an initial order of over 2,000 workers to Canada. Once this initial team succeeds in terms of conduct and technical capabilities, we have a promise for larger numbers to Canada, Australia and even African states like Botswana and Namibia. Already, 100 nurses have been sent to work in Namibia. Therefore, we are looking forward to structuring this programme very well, so that our people do not get enslaved. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, when people go out of the country on their own in search of employment, the main problem they face there, especially in the Gulf States or Arabian countries, is enslavement. Hon. Members will bear witness that many people returned to the country and reported harassment. So, this is a government-to-government structured programme, where all the issues pertaining to their rights, et cetera, are handled by our ambassadors. They can even remit their income back home. As I said, the Philippines receives over US$12 billion October 17, 2007 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 4605 annually as foreign exchange resulting from her citizens working abroad. I hope the same will happen to Kenya. On the issue of using our youths to take care of the environment, we have a tree planting programme, which I have already mentioned, which offers jobs to our them. We have a target of planting 15 million trees. The Kenya Scouts Association and the Girl Guide Association, as well as Saint John Ambulance, and all other youth organisations, have already taken up portions of the targeted number of trees to be planted. In that way, there is hope that young people will be conscious of the environment, which will benefit their future. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would not want to take long on this one. Therefore, I would like to thank hon. Members so much. I beg to move."
}