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{
"id": 831265,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/831265/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Sakaja",
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"speaker": {
"id": 13131,
"legal_name": "Johnson Arthur Sakaja",
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"content": "Madam Temporary Speaker, I thank Sen. Mwaura for bringing up this Petition. This is a matter that we have been trying to deal with. We should not tire in trying to make sure that our young people get job opportunities. There is no more pressing challenge in this country than unemployment. Anything else we try to do, especially security---. The biggest threat to security in this country is not about Al Shabaab, ISIS or criminal gangs, but it is millions of unemployed, disillusioned, disengaged and hopeless young people. In Nairobi County, for example, there is what we call jobless corners or how they put it in Kiswahilli; wako kwa mawe. We must do everything at our disposal to reverse the situation. Madam Temporary Speaker, the reason why we have this crazy level of unemployment is that we are very good at legislating. We are very good at making the laws, but they are not implemented. Madam Temporary Speaker, in the last Parliament, for example, I brought a Bill on the amendment of procurement laws. It required that 30 per cent preferences on procurement be reserved for young people, women and persons with disabilities. However, it has never been implemented. In the same Parliament, I brought a Bill on the National Employment Authority (NEA), which was supposed to deal with most of the issues being raised here. The NEA has been set up. However, there is much lethargy. In every Huduma Centre today in this country, there is supposed to be a job centre. There is supposed to be a repository of all our young people with their skills and what they have studied so that they can get placement. It is not being done. They are supposed to facilitate internships. If 300 Government parastatals were to facilitate internship, things would not be the same for our youths. If every department of State and county just took 50 young people for internship programmes and paid them Kshs15,000, every six months, you would have a cycle of more than 30,000 going in and out. They would be getting the basic work-place professional ethics; understanding and streamlining their career choices; getting some dignity and being able to start their own businesses. I do not understand what can be a bigger priority than this. Even as we deal with this Petition, because I hope that it might be sent to my Committee, we have questions that we must ask. When you tell a young person that before he is even considered, not even before he gets a job - I am happy Sen. Mwaura has listed – he has to pay Ksh1,050 to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). This is means that he needs to pay because he has not committed a crime. He is paying to get clearance of good conduct. Since he paid his HELB, he will pay another Ksh1,000 and because he has been tax compliant; maybe he has never had a PIN. He has to pay tax and so forth. However, he is asked to pay tax of Kshs1,200 to get that certificate. If they have never been corrupt, they are told to pay another Kshs1000 to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC). If they do not have a bank account The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}