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{
    "id": 978216,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/978216/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 226,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Nominated, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Ms. Cecily Mbarire",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13168,
        "legal_name": "Gideon Keter",
        "slug": "gideon-keter"
    },
    "content": "they are adequately funded in order to realise their mandate. I will be happy if I saw a more comprehensive amendment to the entire Bill other than just looking at one particular aspect of how representatives end up at the NYC. Hon. Deputy Speaker, while I hear what Hon. Gideon Keter is saying, that we need to depoliticise the NYC, I am of a contrary opinion. In fact, NYC is a nursery to prepare young people for leadership positions at a higher level. Therefore, getting representatives into the NYC through elections would be, in my view, a better way than if we just say that the director of youth affairs at the county will sit and handpick youth’s right from the village to the county level. Therefore, that is from county to the national level. I feel that, that is open to abuse. We know the workings of this country. There is a likelihood that the Government officer charged with the responsibility of identifying young people may decide to pick young people whom they feel are friendly to the Government. So, what happens if you have a young person who is seen to be in the opposition, but is a good leader? Who puts him on the table at the NYC? Like the case in Uganda, I would rather we allow for competitive elections that are steered by our electoral commission, then the young people can register where it is known who is a member of NYC with a small fee of about five or ten shillings or even no fee at all and they can elect right from the village level all the way to the national level. That way, we can give room for any young person to be a leader in NYC. We should also find a way we can protect it from the influence of us, the politicians and the political parties, so that we get truly young people who are key and truly committed to matters of young people. That is the way I see it. Let us see it as a nursery where young people can realise their potential and participate. The reason I am a Member of Parliament today is because I started as a student leader just like Babu Owino. At the university I was the chair of the students’ union of Egerton University. From there, I joined the Youth Agenda. We started the Youth Agenda as a Non- Governmental Organisation and it is still doing very well today, I was in the National Youth Movement. Those opportunities gave me a chance to prepare myself for leadership at the national level. I think it was a good nursery for me, having been a young woman at a time when women were not really recognised a lot in the political field. I feel this will be a good opportunity. That is my personal opinion. Unless you come up with guidelines on how the youths will be handpicked, I would prefer an elective process of getting leaders into the NYC. With those few remarks, I support but with a rider that, I feel there is a better way to do this than handpicking young people."
}