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{
    "id": 472212,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/472212/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 187,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. (Dr. Khalwale)",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 170,
        "legal_name": "Bonny Khalwale",
        "slug": "bonny-khalwale"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I want to support this Bill very strongly and find a rare opportunity to congratulate the Jubilee Coalition Government for coming up with this very important Bill. I would like to advance the case of the youth and point out that as I support all the clauses in this Amendment Bill, youth do not just have access to procurement simply because of the absence of a law. The law is now there. However, there are other serious challenges that make it difficult for our youth to get an opportunity to get these tenders. High on the list is the issue of national identity cards. If the Government is not going to be proactive in making sure that it avails identity cards to our youth, you will find that this money will be available to the children whose parents are in the middle class or upper class. This is so, especially with regard to the girls. After 18 years, if the girls have not continued with their schooling, they end up getting married. When they move from one village to the other one, then the chief insists that before the girl gets an identity card, she has to go back to her parents and bring their identity card, and come with a letter from the chief of that village telling this other chief that this is, indeed, a bona fide document from the actual parent of this child. This youth will then end up being asked for a tip from the chief where she is married and a tip from the chief where she was born. Then she just gets confused and gives up. It is not rare to find young women in marriage up to the age of 25 who do not have identity cards. I, therefore, urge the Government to make acquisition of identity cards to be easier. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the second challenge that our youth have and which the Government must endeavour to remove is access to information. Newspapers where tenders are advertised by the Government cost money. Newspapers do not circulate very well in the rural areas. Again, I want to take this opportunity to congratulate one newspaper which is doing an experiment; People Daily . People Daily is now giving out its newspaper for free every morning in the hope that they will make their money on advertisements. I want to encourage more newspapers to do that, so that they make their money from advertisements, but the newspapers to be readily available so that our youth can then have access to that particular information. 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."
}