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{
    "id": 383885,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/383885/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 69,
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    "content": "have many who have benefited from the Fund. I will give an example of Kericho County – Ainamoi Women SACCO. I know that today they are the ones who receive the funds and distribute to their members. Madam Temporary Speaker, yes, we have a challenge of unemployment, but the Government, indeed, has put in line a framework of an agricultural programme all over the country, especially in the semi-arid areas where we are going to have irrigation. An example is in Kerio Valley which is partnering with Mumias to start a one-million acre sugarcane project. We do not just have graduates who have finished universities. Where do we leave the diploma graduates and young people whose parents have tried their best to take them through polytechnics and now have skills? Therefore, the fund has to expand and look at all those categories because we will have challenges with all our youth. One of the challenges that we faced when we were opening the YEDF is that some youths could not access the fund, especially those in the marginalized areas. This is because they could not understand the process. Therefore, as we think of the fund, we should know also that when the policy comes in, it brings other challenges. Madam Temporary Speaker, I would request the Senate also to look at employment at a different level. I support what the Senator for Kisumu has just said; that we need to look at agriculture. I will give an example of Khwisero where we have a fish pond. Today we harvest 1,000 fish. While my Senator for Kakamega would say that a calf will stay for 30 years before all 30 youth get his. Women groups have waited for less than 30 years. We have waited for very few years and it works. It is how you agree. Therefore, the youths are not crazy to enter into a group and say that they will wait for 30 years for one cow. It does not work. The other day I saw on K24 television a very good programme of hustlers. This young man started a project with Kshs1,000 and now he has six cows. Therefore, we need to ask ourselves how we can bring in skills where our young people will not be thinking of only white collar jobs, but start going into the real jobs that have money. Agriculture has money and I think that we need to now insist that it is time that our young people invest in it. We shall be looking at food security at that time and how to make money in one month. I know of a young man in Kerio Valley who sells mangoes in Nakuru. He told me that he makes Kshs8 million per month on mangoes. That is why I say that it is good to do research. When I went to Kerio Valley I was shocked. I saw a mango tree with more than 1,000 mangoes. The only challenge they face is that they cannot export the mangoes because they have a lot of madoadoa. But I believe that we can make juice. Therefore, if you open a juice processing factory there, you will have employed the young people there. I was told that you can hire one acre for one year for Kshs5,000. Therefore, also we need to ask: Is it time to go back to the counties? That is why devolution came. Madam Temporary Speaker, we need to reopen the county governments and look at devolution in a better perspective, but not looking at it in terms of opening up funds to help the graduates. You will give the funds to the graduates, but we know the challenge and pressure that the youths are facing also. The moment they get the money, first of all, they will want to feel young. We used to do that even in the universities when we got “ boom .” So, it is something that we need to ask ourselves. But I believe that the The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}