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"id": 5981,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/5981/?format=api",
"text_counter": 494,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Wamalwa",
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"speaker": {
"id": 148,
"legal_name": "Eugene Ludovic Wamalwa",
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"content": "Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, it is possible. We are saying so because other countries have done this; in the spirit of empowerment of their populations that have for various historical reasons been disadvantaged and been left out of the public and economic life of their nations--- One of the nations that have done very well is South Africa. This is a nation, whose black population, most of which is youthful and had been left out of business because of the apartheid policies---Through an Act of Parliament, they were able to put in place the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act. This particular Act was targeted at empowerment of the black population, particularly the youthful population of that nation. They introduced amendments to the procurement laws and allowed for all organs of state to determine preferential procurement policies, and make rules and regulations for the implementation of such polices. This has gone a long way in empowering the black population in South Africa. However, you find one of the young leaders in that great nation, Mr. Malema, still fighting. They are saying that the black population, years after Mandela and Mbeki, is still not able to access the wealth of South Africa, or to meaningfully participate in the economic life of this economic superpower of the African continent. However, we are saying that it is not different in Kenya. This is because Kenya being a youthful country with a youthful population that has been excluded from the mainstream of our economic life, it is in the same place as the black youthful population of South Africa, that through legislation and affirmative action, has now been empowered and enabled to participate and access that cake. This is one of the areas where we are saying that we do not need to re-invent the wheel. We can borrow from other nations that have similarly come from a past where large parts of the population have been excluded. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, using our new Constitution as the basis, we want to say that time has come for us to have a paradigm shift in our politics. It is now time to have politics of empowerment, laws and policies that are youth friendly and centered that can empower the young people of this country. We know that as a nation, it has taken us over 40 years to even come up with a youth policy. It is just the other day that we were able to develop a National Youth Policy in this country. It is only the other day, after 40 years, that we were able to come up with a Ministry that is supposed to deal with matters touching on the youth of this country. It is just the other day after we had the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports in place that we developed the Youth Enterprise Development Fund to try and help the young people of this country, whose impact is still limited in view of the limited resources. It is only the other day that we had the Women Enterprise Development Fund put in place to help the women of this nation and particularly the young women, whose impact is similarly limited. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, we also know that it is just the other day that we were able to come up with the initiative called “ Kazi Kwa Vijana (KKV)” where we were trying to empower the young people of this country. The HANSARD will bear me out that time and again, issues have come up in this House over that initiative and its success. The current situation is that Kshs4.3 billion has been returned to the World Bank due to issues that came up in the management of this Fund. Overall, we have not done much as a nation to empower the young people of this country. We know that it falls upon the State, according to the provisions of Article 55 to come up with these measures, but we know that as young leaders in this country, particularly in the Tenth Parliament, we must show by example that, indeed, there are new ideas we can come up with that can ensure that we change tact and show that the Government has tried. We have seen the interventions of the Government since 2003, when they promised to provide 500,000 jobs for the youth of this country and the limitations in terms of success that we have had over the years. We are saying that it is possible that apart from the KKV initiative and the Youth Enterprise Development Fund with the limited funds we allocate it during our Budget, we can borrow a leaf from other nations in the African continent and beyond. We can come up with new ideas that can empower the young people of this country and give them hope; that, indeed, it might not be possible to give them 500,000 jobs, but it is possible to come up with new ideas that can empower them. We can make laws that will be friendly to them. The youth can go to the Companies Registry and register their partnership or companies. There can also be funds that can be accessed by the youth and they do not have to know the Minister, Managing Director of a corporation or to be a director in that corporation. However, through our laws that are friendly, they can access a share of public procurement and recognize the disability and hurdles that they have suffered over the years. That is what we are trying to do through this proposed Bill. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, we know that if it has worked in South Africa, it is possible that it can work here in Kenya. We do know that, as a nation, we have invested a lot in our young population. We have developed a human resource that is the envy of not just the region, but the continent and beyond. But just like we have had problems in agriculture, where we have lacked a post-harvest policy that would bring in this crop and ensure that we are able to attain our national food security, we equally do have a poor post-harvest policy in terms of after investing too much in the training and the education of our young population, how do we maximize on the training, their talents and abilities beyond the universities, schools and colleges. We have a problem where young people after tarmacking and when you go to all the jobless corners of this country, what you hear is frustration. You will hear young people getting frustrated and giving up. Many turn to drugs and join illegal gangs because of the frustration that they have after tarmacking year in, year out, looking for jobs. However, time has come through this amendment and other ideas that are coming up before this House where we can tell them that hope and help is on the way. There is hope and there is a new way that we can do things in this country. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, I know that after this amendment, we will require the Minister to put in place regulations. There would be the possibility of attempts to abuse this particular provision once it is passed. They know that there is a share of public procurement that is preserved for the youth of this country. There are still those who will want to use the same youth to beat rules and steal in order to get a share of that, although they are not young people. We can borrow a leaf from other countries and come up with rules. That is why through this proposed amendment, we are actually telling the Minister that he has the powers, first of all, to put in place specific preferences in terms of procurement, but most importantly, to put in place the necessary rules that will allow those who fall under this bracket not to be used or abused. These are the rules that we have proposed in this amendment. If we can through this amendment allow the young people to access our public procurement, let us do so. Let us also know that unless we turn this great human resource that we have on earth, the majority of which is below the age of 35 or 40, it can very quickly turn into a menace. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, I will close by remembering what one great author Isabel Allende once said in her book The House of Spirits . She did say that from the time Adam and Eve were thrown out of the Garden of Eden, the work ethic amongst the human beings started. From the time a child is born, the child begs for education. After education, a child begs for work. After not finding work, a child begs for alms. It is only after the almsgivers stop giving alms that this child turns to crime. She did say that all is not well unless the child is well. I will say that all is not well unless the youth of this nation are well. We must come up with policies to try and ensure that they are given a meaningful opportunity to participate in our economic life as a nation. In line with Agenda Four, we do know that one of the areas where we have not done very well is the area of youth unemployment."
}