Justifying Meaningful Engagement And Inclusion Of Young People In Political Processes.
The Kenya Young Parliamentarians Association is a body formed in 2004 as an association of the 9th parliament to build the capacity and enhance the participation of young leaders. Its mission is to be the effective voice of young people in parliament and beyond, setting the country's agenda toward more youth-friendly policies. An association of informed and empowered legislators effectively engaging with parliament, government, and other stakeholders working to empower the youth of Kenya.
More transparency, better accountability, and greater responsiveness to the youth demographic are elements young Kenyans yearn for. The Kenyan government is beginning to respond to these demands. To encourage more civic engagement by younger citizens, the government is taking measures through the World Bank's Kenya Accountable Devolution Program (KADP) to incorporate public participatory budgeting into their budget decision-making process. The 2007 general elections highlighted Kenya's failure to engage its youth constituency effectively in political, governance, and electoral processes. Building trust between young people and democratic institutions is critical as young people make up a substantive part of the overall Kenyan population.
A few local governments have taken an unprecedented step to reach out to young people to ask what challenges youth face in getting involved in public affairs. Timothy Kiprono, Executive Director at a Kenyan Open Governance Institute, commends efforts made by officials to commit to Open Government Partnership and create open spaces for communities' engagement but notes remaining limitations in the existing participatory structure that impede young people's voices in decision-making processes.
Young leaders both nominated and elected in the national assembly and senate have been able to champion legislation that favors young people and the citizenry. The Bills sponsored and initiated by young legislators under the Kenya Young Parliamentarians Association (KYPA) of Kenya can be tracked through KYPA-Bill-Tracker-Table. The Bills include The County Governments Retirement Scheme Bill (Sen. Bill No. 6 of 2018), sponsored by Sen. Sakaja Johnson - Chairperson, Labor, and Social Welfare. Its objective is to establish the County Government's Retirement scheme as a mandatory scheme for all County Government Officers; provide for the establishment of the scheme's Board of Trustees, and provide for the scheme's management and administration. The Bill proposes that the scheme offer lump-sum payments as provident, periodic payments as pensions, and income drawdowns.
The County Governments (Amendment) Bill (Sen. Bill No.13 of 2018) is sponsored by Sen. Aaron Cheruiyot, and its objective is to amend section 58 of the County Governments Act, No.17 of 2012, to provide for the appointment of human resource management professionals as chairpersons of the County Public Service Boards. This amendment aims to build the capacity of the County Public Service Boards to enable them to execute their mandate professionally.
The Care and Protection of Older Members of Society Bill (Sen. Bill No. 17 of 2018), sponsored by Sen. Aaron Cheruiyot. The Bill provides a framework through which the rights articulated under Article 57 of the Constitution can be realized. It recognizes that for a long time, older members of society, particularly those who are unable to care for themselves, have often been neglected and are unable to live decent lives.
The Determination of the Nature of Bills (Procedure) Bill (Sen. Bills No. 30 of 2018), sponsored by Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Junior and Sen. Sakaja Johnson and this Bill provides a framework through which both Houses of Parliament can resolve issues on whether a Bill concerns counties and, if it does, whether it is a special or an ordinary Bill. Presently there is no legal framework on how the Speakers of both Houses of Parliament are to enforce concurrence on all the Bills presented to both Houses of Parliament.
The Mental Health (Amendment) Bill (Sen. Bills No. 32 of 2018), sponsored by Sen. Sylvia Kasanga, and its objective is to impose obligations on each level of government to address the issue of accessibility to mental health services, including care, treatment, and rehabilitation of persons with mental illness. The Bill proposes incorporating within the membership of the Kenya Mental Health Board representation of the county governments. The Bill further reviews the membership of the Kenya Mental Health Board from the current fourteen executive members to nine to make the workings of the Council more efficient and representative.
The Tea Bill (Sen. Bills No. 36 of 2018), sponsored by Sen. Aaron Cheruiyot, aims to liberalize the tea industry through the reorganization of the tea industry by transitioning the regulatory and commercial roles currently undertaken by the Agriculture and Food Authority to the Tea Regulatory Authority of Kenya.
The Care and Protection of Child Parents Bill (Sen. Bills No. 11 of 2019, sponsored by Sen. Beatrice Kwamboka, and its objective is to provide a framework for the return to school of girls who fall pregnant while in school; the fair treatment of girls who are pregnant and in school and drop out of school and in this case, the girls, should not face discrimination by being forced to attend different programs or schools from those of their peers; provide academic support, parenting and life skills classes and strategies to prevent future unplanned pregnancies; help pregnant and parenting students to gain access to affordable child care, and revise school policies and practices to remove barriers that hinder the attainment of education by all children; and provide for enforcement and monitoring mechanisms by the Ministry of Education by taking legal action against school heads, teachers and parents who are unwilling to re-admit those who drop out due to pregnancy or childbirth.
The Registration of Persons (Amendment) Bill (Sen. Bills No. 14 of 2019) is sponsored by Sen. Isaac Mwaura, and its objective is to amend the Registration of Persons Act, Cap. 107 and the Births and Deaths Registration Act, Cap. 149 to make provision for the registration of persons born with both male and female reproductive organs. This will ensure that the registration of such intersex persons reflects their unique gender.
The County Licensing (Uniform Procedure) Bill (Sen. Bills No. 17 of 2019) sponsored by Sen. Mercy Chebeni to establish uniform procedures for licensing to ensure certainty in the process and ultimately encourage private sector players to do business in the counties.
The Alternative Dispute Resolution Bill (Sen. Bills No. 19 of 2019), sponsored by Sen. Sylvia Kasanga, aims to establish a legal framework for settling certain civil disputes by conciliation, mediation, and traditional dispute resolution. The Bill includes the provision of accreditation and registration of conciliators and mediators. This is to ensure professionalism and to protect the citizens from quacks.
The Fisheries Management and Development (Amendment) Bill (Sen. Bills No. 22 Of 2019) is sponsored by Sen. Moses Kajwang' and its objective is to amend the Fisheries Management and Development Act, 2016 on the appointment of the Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer of the Fish Marketing Authority to align their appointment with best practice on the appointment of Chairpersons and Chief Executives of corporations as enunciated in the Mwongozo Code for State corporations.
The Prompt Payment Bill (Sen Bill No. 3 of 2020) Sen. Farhiya Haji and Sen. Johnson Sakaja and the Bill's objective is to establish a legal framework to facilitate prompt payment for the supply of goods, works, and services procured by government entities both at the National and County level.
The Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes (Amendment) Bill, (Bill No. 6 of 2019) Hon. Ndindi Nyoro. This Bill's principal objective is to amend the Anti Corruption and Economic Crimes Act No. 3 of 2003 to prescribe a minimum penalty to act as a deterrence mechanism for persons who engage in corrupt conduct as defined in the Act.
The Alcoholic Drinks Control (Amendment) Bill No. 70 of 2019) sponsored by Hon. Silvanus Osoro Onyiego. The principal objective is to amend the Alcoholic Drinks Control Act of 2010 to regulate the electronic advertising of alcohol, particularly to protect children.
The Radiographers Bill (No. 47 of 2019) sponsored by Hon. Sabina Chege. The principal objective is to provide a legislative framework for radiographers' training, registration, and licensing to regulate their practice.
The Employment (Amendment) Bill No. 15 of 2019, sponsored by Hon. Martha Wangari. The Principal Objective of this Bill is to amend the Employment Act, 2007 to afford pre-adoptive leave to parents who apply for the adoption of children who are not their natural children born to them by birth.
The Public Service Commission(Amendment) Bill No. 27 of 2019 by Hon. Benjamin Gathiru Mwangi. Its objective is to amend the Public Service Act, 2017, to prescribe the mandatory retirement age of sixty years in the Act. The Public Service Act, 2017, provides that the mandatory age is to be prescribed in the regulations. Further, the Bill provides for the penal provisions in the event that an appointing authority allows a person to act for more than six months. Lastly, the Act provides for mandatory retirement at the age of sixty without any exceptions.
The National Youth Council (Amendment) Bill, 2019. National Assembly Bill No. 8 of 2019, sponsored by Hon. Gideon Keter. The principal objective is to amend the National Youth Council Act to depoliticize the membership of the National Youth Council by allowing the competitive recruitment of the youth-serving in the Council through the office of the County Directors of Youth.
The Breastfeeding Mothers Bill No. 74 of 2019, sponsored by Hon. Sabina Chege. To provide a legal framework for mothers who may wish to breastfeed their children at the workplace. It provides the mother with the right to freely breastfeed or express milk for the infant and mandates employers to provide employees with lactation rooms.
The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Control (Amendment) (Bill No 7 of 2019 ) sponsored by Hon. Mohamed Ali Mohamed, its objective is to amend the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act 0f 1994 to enhance the penalties of the offense of trafficking narcotic drugs, define who the law enforcement officers are, and prescribe a law enforcement officer who aids and abets, or is an accessory to any offense in the Act.
The Employment (Amendment) (Bill No.2 of 2019) sponsored by Hon. Gideon Keter and the Bill's objective is to mandate the employer to carry out background checks of the employee to remove the cost of clearance certificates from unemployed youth who need the documents during job applications.
Youth political participation in Kenya includes a youth-led campaign to register youth to vote, increasing funding for young political aspirants, and building out a Youth Manifesto as a tool for political engagement.
The Youth Café works with young men and women around Africa as a trailblazer in advancing youth-led approaches toward achieving sustainable development, social equity, innovative solutions, community resilience, and transformative change.
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