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"id": 238446,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/238446/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "[The Minister of State for Youth Affairs]",
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"content": "addressed, however, they can be a veritable time bomb. This is a fact that all hon. Members of this august House are aware of. I am sure that all of us want the issues concerning the youth addressed urgently. The following amazing statistics will illustrate the extent of the problem we are grappling with as a nation. (i) Seventy five per cent of our population is below 30 years of age. (ii) Those between 15 and 30 years old account for 32 per cent of the population. By our definition, the youth is 15 to 30 years old. (iii) Over 50 per cent of all convicted criminals are young men and women aged between 16 and 25 years. (iv) Sixty seven per cent of all those who are unemployed are between 15 and 30 years and 45 per cent are under 24 years. (v) Ninety two per cent of those unemployed, especially the youth, have no vocational skills or professional training. (vi) Over 60 per cent of new HIV/AIDS infections are among the youth. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, with all these, Kenya will not meet its Millennium Development Goals (MDG) without addressing youth development. While many challenges face young people, undoubtedly, the most acute is the inability to access employment. That is the lack of opportunity to earn a decent and honest living. It is this that drives young people into crime and drugs and into a general state of hopelessness and despair. The issue of creating employment opportunities for the youth, be it formal, informal or self- employment, needs to be addressed urgently and with the kind of resources focus and commitment as we have directed at HIV/AIDS. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the youth are Kenya's most wasted resource. If two million unemployed young people could be given jobs and produce at average industrial output per worker, they would add Kshs504 billion to our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) constituting to a 50 per cent increase. The Ministry has identified eight key areas to be addressed urgently. In the area of youth and environment, where we have initiated the planting of 50 million trees through collaboration with youth organisations countrywide, we recognise that the degradation of the environment through pollution, poor waste management and deforestation is a major challenge for Kenya. With the ensuing destruction of water catchments, depletion of fish and October 18, 2006 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 2981 other marine stock, pollution of rivers and destruction of plants and animals, the youth cannot be assured quality of life in the future. The Ministry is working closely with the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources to create employment for youth through re-afforestation. We expect remarkable achievements in this area in the coming month. In the area of youth and health, especially HIV/AIDS, it is recognised that health has become a major issue among the youth. Apart from the traditional health problems like malaria, tuberculosis (TB) and the more conservative sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), the exponential spread of HIV/AIDS and drug abuse have become issues of major concern. As the majority of new infections take place among the youth, we believe it is only through mobilizing the youth that we can win the war against this scourge. The Ministry's work plan for the next financial year addresses this problem in the context of the proposed National Youth Council. With regard to youth education and training, the 8-4-4 System of Education was geared towards imparting appropriate skills to enhance self-employment. However, due to the high cost of living, poverty and lack of facilities, there have been high school drop out rates. Most of the youth drop out of school or graduate without acquiring the skills necessary for self employment. Many girls drop out of school due to pregnancy. Statistics show that almost 90 per cent of our unemployed youth have no skill or vocational training. To address this, 16 youth polytechincs are being rehabilitated and, similarly, work in another ten will commence soon. We intend to provide equipment to one youth polytechnic per constituency. I think most hon. Members have by now received letters inviting them to nominate one youth polytechnic in their constituency. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Ministry has requested hon. Members to identify the institution to receive this support. Several have already responded. We are also finalising a new policy for youth polytechnics and curriculum revision. The Ministry believes that it is important today to develop the next generation of leaders. In this regard, we have organised three career clinics where students from various schools have benefitted by getting first hand information from over 20 different careers ranging from military to medicine. This type of information will help them make proper choices regarding their future career. We are planning more such career fairs across the country. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the National Youth Service (NYS) is playing its role in youth development. For example, the Street Youth Rehabilitation Programme is progressing well. The NYS is undergoing a reform process. We will also review its curriculum to ensure that it is in line with the job market requirements. Due to lack of access to Information and Communication Technology (ICT), especially in rural areas, the youth cannot exploit their career, business and education opportunities. There is need to take advantage of benefits associated with ICT to foster youth development by mobilisation of youth groups, creating awareness of the information society to the youth groups, integrating local cultural content into the information society, enhancing existing facilities with collaborating partners, creating employment opportunities for the youth in the information society and advocating for policy reforms relevant to the youth with regard to ICT. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, on youth, crime and drugs, the abuse of illicit drugs is on the increase, especially among the youth. This has had an effect on crime as research reveals that the use of drugs and crime are inter-related. The Ministry is working closely with other agencies, notably the National Campaign Against Drug Abuse (NACADA) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to seek a solution to this problem. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, in the area of youth participation and empowerment, we have recognised that youth empowerment is about facilitating the youth to forge partnerships with other groups in society, instilling a sense of ownership in an effort to improve their wellbeing and building their capacity to realise their aspirations and boost self-motivation. Involving the youth in 2982 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES October 18, 2006 planning, implementation and evaluation of programmes that affect them gives them a sense of belonging and ownership. This results in sustainability and success of such programmes. In line with this, my Ministry will facilitate the creation of a National Youth Council (NYC), a youth- owned and led body. In order to effectively co-ordinate services targeted at the youth, the Ministry will commence work on the development of a comprehensive web-based data base of youth organisations in the country. With regard to youth recreation, leisure and community service, we believe that sports and recreation are important for the psychological and physical development of the youth. They also contribute to their personal development by promoting good health, personal discipline, leadership and team skills. Community service enables young people to give back to society and encourages an inter-generational discourse. Finally, on youth unemployment, about 500,000 youth join the labour market every year ready to enter the job market. However, due to the slow economic growth, corruption, nepotism and demand for experience by potential employers, 75 per cent remain unemployed. The Ministry of Youth Affairs is developing policies that will address unemployment problems and create an environment where the youth can exploit their potential through value-added initiatives."
}