National Youth Council Bill | YWLI: Young Womens Leadership Institute

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by myra | Friday, August 7th Posted in:

Women's Pulse

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We are past the middle of the second year since the Grand Coalition Government signed the National Peace Accord. Several attempts by different groups have been made to pressurize the government to implement Agenda 4 recommendations of the Peace Accord. The issues addressed by Agenda 4 include youth unemployment, the resettlement of internally displaced persons, and the formation of a local tribunal to try perpetrators of post-election violence. So far, the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation team has been formed and sworn in. They are not only to look into post-election violence, but also look into all forms of injustices since independence time, what a task for the amount of time given!

Part of the action plan for the government in addressing unemployment, particularly among the youth was:

· Generate an average of 740,000 new jobs each year from 2008-2012

· Youth polytechnics to be revitalized and expanded in all districts to facilitate the training of young people in technical, vocational and entrepreneurial skills to equip them with relevant skills to participate fully in productive activities

· Youth empowerment centers to be rehabilitated or established in all constituencies

· Upgrade existing national youth service institutions and establish three new ones

· Development and enactment of a National Youth Council Bill

· Establish youth enterprise and employment programme to promote SMSs and self employment among the youth

· Youth enterprise development fund to be increase and mechanisms put in place for easier access to credit and collateral

· Some 5,000 youth to be recruited to national youth service to be employed in labour intensive road projects, tree planting programmes and other productive activities.

You shall agree with me, all the bullets need deeper discussions and some are a bit degrading to the youth of this country. But that aside, my main interest for this discussion is on bullet 5 which talks about development and enactment of a national youth council bill. The government has made good their promise and formulated the national youth council (NYC) bill.

According to the national youth policy, Kenyans in the age bracket of 1-30 years constitute 75% of the country’s population, forming the largest source of human resource. While those between the ages of 15-30 years constitutes 32% of the total population. Yet this population remain on the periphery of the country’s affairs and their status has not been accorded due recognition. We have been excluded from designing, planning and implementing programmes and policies that affect us.

The policy defines the youth as persons resident in Kenya in the age bracket 15 to 30 years (round hii si mchezo, mambo ya youth at heart hakuna). In Kenya, there has been alot of misuse of the word youth, where old men and women claim to be 'youth at heart' forever. At least the document has put the age bracket of who a real youth is.

Problems outlined in the policy that affect the youth include

Unemployment and underemployment
Health related problems: malaria, malnutrition, HIV and AIDS, STIs, drug and substance abuse, FGM, teenage pregnancies, abortion. Available statistics show that the youth make up 33% of Kenyans infected with HIV/Aids.
Increasing school and college dropout rates: mostly due to high cost of education and increase in overall poverty levels, lack of a re-admission policy for teenage mothers etc
Crime and deviant behavior: due to idleness, especially after formal education
Limited sports and recreation facilities
Abuse and exploitation
Limited participation and lack of opportunities
Limited and poor housing
Limited access to information and communication technology (ICT)

The policy recognizes the importance of youth to enjoy their youthfulness irrespective of social status and sex. The youth have a right to: life, meaningful education, good health, marriage at the legal age of consent, protection from sexual exploitation and abuse, seek meaningful employment, adequate shelter, food and clothing, freedom of speech, expression and association, participate in making decisions that affect their lives, protection from social, economic and political manipulation and ownership and protection of property.

Part of the implementation mechanisms was the recognition and need to establish a national youth council through an act of parliament which was tabled in parliament for the second reading on 23^rd July 2009. The mandate of the national youth council will include co-ordination of youth organizations, designing and continuously reviewing the NYP and developing an ‘integrated national youth development plan’ in collaboration with the ministry responsible for youth affaires. The council will act as an advisory, research and policy institution on youth affairs in the country.

Its functions include:

Mobilize, sensitize and organize the youth of Kenya under one umbrella for political, economic and socio-cultural activities
Gainfully involve the youth in activities that are beneficial to them and the nation at large
Mobilize resources to support youth council programmes and activities
Liaise with development organizations to ensure that they gain access to resources, services and programmes
Promote relations between youth organizations other bodies inside and outside Kenya with similar objectives or interests
Inspire and promote the spirit of unity, patriotism and volunteerism in the youth
Act as a voice and bridge to ensure that the Government and other policy makers are kept informed of the views and aspirations of the youth.

The policy also proposes the establishment of an inter-ministerial committee on youth comprising representatives of relevant ministries dealing with youth issues. The committee will monitor and review the youth activities carried out by various players in the government as stipulated in the action plan.

Why is it important for me and you to engage in this bill?

Members of parliament will not want to pass a bill that will empower the youth and legitimize a body that will allow young people to participate in decision making of the country. But the bill has its own shortcomings which then we need to join other lobby groups to ensure these are corrected in good time. For instance:

A lot of powers have been given to the minister of youth affairs who will virtually appoint almost all the council officials. The minister is appointed by the president and if he/she is in charge of the appointments, this may encourage cronyism and thus the council might not fulfill its mandate.
Notice there is no age limit for any of the council officials yet this is a youth council? The ‘youth at heart representatives’ could comprise the council and thus our issues will not really be represented.

These are just a few of the loopholes that the bill has. I urge you all to read the bill and lets engage in a discuss about it. Knowledge is power and thus the more you have it, the better you are in terms of engagement and articulation of issues.

Sources of materials:

Ministry of Youth Website: www.youthaffairs.go.ke

National Youth Convention: nyciv@googlegroups.com (contributions from Stella Agara, Susan Kariuki, Sonia Rasugu and other NYC-ers)

myra's blog

Finally the bill has been

Submitted by hellen kimaiga on Thu, 01/07/2010 - 10:40.

Finally the bill has been passed into law and there are a few things tyhat are not in order,but we need to look at the postive side. Atleast we have the bill what we need to do now as the youth is to be in the forefront in the recruitment process.The nomination procescess that is to be done from the grassroot we have to ensure we have the youth being elected to voice our concerns in the board.Let us all unite as young people to see that the YOUTH ACT is of benefit to the youth and not just another body to be manipulated by the old guards.

Engagement by a Young Woman

Submitted by myra on Tue, 08/11/2009 - 16:08.

below are views from Ms. Stella Agara, a Program Officer at the African Youth Trust with regards to the Bill.

How far is the bill?

The Kenya National Youth Council Bill is now undergoing its 2^nd reading in parliament. Procedurally a bill normally goes through the 1^st Reading which is just a reading to table the document in parliament at which point no discussion takes place. The bill is later brought for the 2^nd reading which is the stage where the document is tabled a second time and debated upon. After the debate the bill then goes to committee stage, this is the point where the bill is assigned to a departmental committee for further review, amendment and incorporation of some of the concerns that may have been relayed to parliament through a sitting member, other organized groups or petitions from the public. After the committee completes its work the document is sent to parliament for a 3^rd reading, adoption and enactment after which the document goes to the president for accent. If the president accedes then the Minister; for the time being responsible for the docket affected by the enactment of such law, is the one who plays the final role of gazetting the Act which then and only then officially comes to force. If the president does not accede the bill goes back to parliament for further debate.

The KNYC bill is therefore at a very early stage of discussion and therefore the process should be followed up keenly to ensure that the youth come out with as friendly a document as the circumstances and our political environment and history can permit. The bill was tabled in parliament for the 2^nd reading on the 24^th July 2007 by the Honorable Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs, Prof. Hellen Sambili and seconded by the Honorable Minister of State for Planning, National Development and Vision 2030, Dr Wycliffe Oparanya. Since the document was tabled late in the evening, Hon. Oparanya did not complete his speech, he is therefore expected to finish it in the next session when the debate shall continue as for now the bill is pending since parliament has to prioritize budget discussions before the guillotine.

What does this bill mean to the Kenya youth, in your opinion?

In my Opinion, this bill is one that the youth should fight hand, tooth and nail for. The clamor for this bill began 14 years ago, many of the youth who were fighting for the enactment of the National Youth Policy and eventual enactment of the National Youth Council to pave way for the establishment of the National Youth Council which would in turn implement the policy have long fallen out of the process. There efforts have however borne fruit since we already have a National Youth Policy which was enacted at the end of year 2007 albeit in a hurry! We also have the KNYC bill under discussion in parliament which is another gain we should safeguard.

For a long time the youth of Kenya have been secluded from discussion and decisions on pertinent issues and where they had access, there participation was aesthetic and limited to entertainment of Key decision makers. Such times have passed and the state is more interested in including the youth in decision making especially after the disputed Year 2007 Kenyan elections. For the short stint when youth have been participating at different levels, the selection of such youth has been haphazard and uncoordinated. Half the time the youth invited are those known by the conveners. Youth participation has therefore been at the mercy of conveners a process that could be adulterated at any level since the conveners could choose to select their own friends for individual benefits, select youth who do not represent the interests being discussed while on the other hand the youth selected do not have any obligation towards the youth since they are not answerable to any constituency. It is with such gaps that a National Youth Council can come in to fill the gap and ensure that the youth are getting a better deal from the state and other actors as well. There are two options, the youth can accept the council offered with as much amendment sneaked in through out the stages of its discussion and enactment then lobby for more from inside once a council is set up. The other option is for the youth to risk loosing this bill and having to restart the process again. I am a proponent of the former and would like to urge all the youth to work towards influencing the enactment of a KNYC bill that shall be as youth friendly and focused as possible while safeguarding the gains we have made until now for youth. Loosing this bill completely is not an affordable option for the youth now!

Why should we as young people push for the bill?

I say loosing this bill is an expensive option because the KNYC bill is faced by two realities that could work to derail its enactment. One is the Ruling class’ interests, two and most importantly is the “youth” interest. Through consultation a National Youth Council bill was drafted in Year 2006 that proposes the formation of a council that is elected from grass root level to the National level that will be governed by a National Youth Assembly with an executive committee. This structure could look to the ruling elite like a mechanism that will be competing with their existence and could result in them shooting it down. On the other hand this would probably be the most representative structure as far as the youth are concerned hence if such demands are not met; the youth may disregard the council. These two realities coupled with other concerns that have come up from amongst the youth and policy makers are actually concerns that need to be delicately addressed in order to avoid loses for the youth. Gauging from the Powers the politicians wield viz-a-viz that of the youth we may want to meticulously review our proposals and ensure that whatever we ventilate is reasonable within the circumstances, that we understand what we shall not compromise on be-as-it–may and that we all speak the same language without competing for attention, time or favors. It calls for proper strategy where we shall be required to use our biggest strength i.e. numbers to apply maximum pressure on parliamentarians and other actors in policymaking and legislation to incorporate as much of the youth demands as would be possible within the stages of enactment of KNYC bill.

If the bill is thrown out of parliament now it will take another 6 months before it can be allowed for it to be reintroduced to parliament. When these six months have lapsed, we shall be at the mercy of cabinet to prioritize the issue of youth which, as is currently evident is not of high priority. That may mean reintroduction towards the end of 2010 or at the beginning of year 2011; years approaching the election where the youth agenda may be disregarded or the entire process will be politicized. It is our choice to make!

The youth we are

Submitted by sophie on Tue, 08/11/2009 - 15:50.

It is sad to see youth being taken for granted yet they are the resource of this country. There is always a deliberate effort that works so well for youth to be left out of the main powers and levave them out in the cold doing the 'kazi ya mkono' (footwork) or shouting while others rip the benefits. A good insght into a document that has the potential of putting the youth on some pedestal or just leave them out int he cold as others benefit on behalf of the youth!!!! More voice and action needed. Share more on how young women can do this with other youth.

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Finally the bill has been

Engagement by a Young Woman

The youth we are