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{
    "id": 575108,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/575108/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 259,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Sakaja",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13131,
        "legal_name": "Johnson Arthur Sakaja",
        "slug": "johnson-arthur-sakaja"
    },
    "content": "The Sessional Paper is well done. It touches on all the important issues that we need to look at when it comes to creating employment opportunities in this country. We have a working age of around 20 million Kenyans and a very high unemployment rate. Our unemployment rate, in fact, is one of the worst in the Continent. All efforts must be made to address the issue of unemployment. Even as we tackle different challenges in this country, for example, insecurity, I just would like to let Members know that the biggest threat to this country is not Al Shabaab. The biggest threat to this country is disillusioned idle and unemployed young people who have no hope. That is the biggest threat to this country. That provides fodder for all of those other ills in society that we are trying to fight. If we think the cost of addressing that is high, the cost of not addressing it is much higher. There are many young people across this country that have no hope that they will get an opportunity. Part of the problem is within our education sector and I am glad that the Sessional Paper talks about the linkages between education, training institutions and industries. Many of our young people are studying courses that are just postponing the unemployment because no one is employing people in those courses. Even when you go earlier, I can tell you, for example, two years ago, 400,000 students did the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE). But if you go back eight years in 2005, there were 1.3 million who joined Class I. Only 400,000 did the KCPE. Where did the rest go? Of those 400,000, I am sure it is less half who got chances in Form One. Because of our inadequacy and lack of investment in education, every year we tell so many young people that they are not clever enough to go Form I from Class VIII because we have not invested in building classes. I am sure Members will attest that each and every primary The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}