From: dennis mutuku <mmdennis40@yahoo.com>
Date: Mon, Jul 27, 2009 at 12:17 PM
Subject: NYC Re: National Youth Council Bill 2009-Our view
To: nyciv@googlegroups.com
Kudos to Stella, Sonia and the rest of the team that has consistently driven the push for establishment of a National Youth Council.
I am however as some of you have expressed, deeply disturbed by some sections of the proposed bill:
1. On Section 5, composition of the Council
My proposal is to remove the current composition as stated in the said clause and replace with the following:
"The Council shall adopt its own Structure, Rules and Procedures for the efficient administration of its activities. Provided that the first meeting to adopt the structure and procedures of the Council shall be supervised by an official designated by the Minister."
"The Structure, Rules and Procedures shall only be adopted by a resolution at a meeting of the Council, attended by not less than two-thirds of the registered youth organisations and supported by not less than three-quarters of the voting members present.
The Bill should then have a Transitional Clause which shall stipulate preliminary arrangements during the transitionary period within which youth groups shall apply to be registered as members of the Council. All the members registered in this period shall constitute the Youth Council. They will then proceed to appoint an interim committee which will develop the Structure, Rules and Procedures, Code of Conduct and other documents which will then be presented to members for ratification. Once ratified members can then elect office bearers as per the Structure.
The government representatives in the current composition can play their role on the Youth Advisory Board.
DO NOT be hoodwinked, a Council is not the Document that creates it, Neither is it the SECRETARIAT. In this context the Youth Council is a Body constituted/appointed by MEMBERSHIP representing a common Interest the YOUTH. It is not a favour by a BENEVOLENT government or Minister it is a RIGHT because the Youth demand it.
2. With regards to representation
The more representative the Youth Council is, the better. Let me emphasize the Council is not the Leadership or those that sit in the coordinating/executive Secretariat, a Council is the MEMBERSHIP. Therefore the more diverse and representative the membership is....the better.
It is my view that the Membership of the Council be comprised of any and all Registered Youth Groups across the country (CBOs, NGOs, Associations), these will meet annually/bi-annually to elect officials to run the Council. The CEO/Secretary should be the Secretary of the Executive Committee once one is established, their responsiblitiy will be to run the Secretariat & implement policies & programs of the Council
3. With regards to Age
I support the age group 15 to 35, thus far in Kenya youth have been administered under this bracket. To avoid conflict and confusion the Youth Council should adopt a similar position. It would be sending contradictory signals for instance if a person/group has qualified for YEDF funds but cannot participate in Youth Council affairs.
Dear Colleagues I have not seen anywhere in the World or any Statute that provides for the APPOINTMENT of a REPRESENTATIVE Council. Think of any Council in Kenya or elswhere. Even City Councils are comprised of Elected Councillors.
For reference I have attached the NGO Coordination Act 1990 which created the NGO Coordination Board and the NGO Council. While the Coordination Board is government controlled (4 executive members of the NGO Council sit in it) the NGO Council is fully independent and sets its own structures. The Media Act No. 3 of 2007 creates the Media Council which is also fully independent of governement. See link http://www.kenyalaw.org/kenyalaw/klr_app/frames.php
The only way a Council can be controlled by the government is if it is established as a State corporation through presidential decree under the State Corporations Act. We must decide if we want another ADMINISTRATIVE government body for youth just like the Youth Ministry & YEDF or if we want a strong Youth organisation again OF, BY & FOR the YOUTH.
Dennis Mutuku
From: sonia rasugu <sonia.rasugu@kcdfoundation.org>
To: Stella Agara <stella@africayouthtrust.org>; nyciv@googlegroups.com
Sent: Monday, July 27, 2009 5:12:05 PM
Subject: NYC Re: National Youth Council Bill 2009-Our view
Carole,
Interesting strategy you have going and great input.
I am inclined to respond to some of the issues raised in your weekend discussion.
· Generally, the National Youth Council "looks" like an amorphous Government agency. There is very little to demonstrates that this is a Youth Council, led and managed by young people to represent young people's interests to Government and other parties.
· You make an important point about including criteria for nominating youth representatives to the Council and the Advisory Board.
· Appointment of youth council representatives – this needs some thought. I am aware there were clear proposals in earlier drafts which I am sure some of us still have in our archives. Could anyone share? I lost the trail of where the discussions got to. Charles?
· The Youth Advisory Board shouldn't have more members than the Council, methinks.
· Indeed, with clarity of mind the permanent secretaries and AG can be part of the Council but with clear roles and perhaps as ex-officio members.
· The age issue we must deal with. In the final deliberations on the National Youth Policy it was agreed that youth is 15 to 30 years. The YEDF broadened this to 15 to 35 years. The National Youth Council mandate is to implement the National Youth Policy and thus youth to this extent is 15 to 30 years, notwithstanding the legal 18 to 35 years provision or the universal definition of 15 to 24 years (which is NOT applicable for Kenya at all, except for statistical purposes).
· An Executive Board? I am not clear how this contributes to the effectiveness of the structure and representation. Is it the crucial decision making body within the Council like a Council sub-committee?
As you see from Stella's update, the Bill is currently in the House. Our proposals for amendments will be made to the House Committee and through the Ministry of Youth Affairs. Furthermore amendments can be made to the Act once it is passed, so we are still on course. The challenge is to remain engaged until we have a Council in favour of young Kenyans.
Regards
Sonia Rasugu
(O) +254 20 6763002 or 20 3542039
(M) +254 733 262188
From: Stella Agara [mailto:stella@africayouthtrust.org]
Sent: Monday, July 27, 2009 2:51 PM
To: nyciv@googlegroups.com
Subject: RE: NYC Re: National Youth Council Bill 2009-Our view
Thank you Carole,
I printed your suggestions which shall be discussed in the caucus meeting we plan to hold this week.
Regards,
Stella Adhiambo Agara
Program Officer,
Monitoring and Evaluation,
P.O.Box 7192 ,00100
Nairobi .
Tel:+254 (20) 2022269
Stellamelus@gmail.com
If it is good for Africa then Iwant to do it, I love doing it and I will do it.
"Just a little more love and this world will be the best place to live in"
From: nyciv@googlegroups.com [mailto:nyciv@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Carole
Sent: Friday, July 24, 2009 5:43 PM
To: nyciv@googlegroups.com
Subject: NYC Re: National Youth Council Bill 2009-Our view
First of all I must thank Eustace for scanning and forwarding a copy of the bill to those of us who could not have access to the copy.
I managed to get hold of 5 other youths this afternoon and together we worked on what needed urgent attention to be further discussed incase you convene a meeting in Nairobi on Monday morning. The following are our contributions on the same.
Part I
On the Preliminaries section, we had the following concern.
The definition of the 'youth'. Seems like the bill only applies to the persons between 18 – 30 years. Meaning 31 – 35 age bracket is no longer considered to be a Kenyan youth.
Part II – ESTABLISHING, POWERS AND FUNCTIONS OF THE COUNCIL
From my yesterdays view before going through the bill, whatever I termed as the management team could act as the council.
This is where we should have the Minister for Youth Affairs and the biggest support we need from this office is to ensure that there is a team (comprising of government representation-including PS labour, PS treasury, PS Youth affairs and the AG) either appointed or represented to work with the youth representatives appointed by The Youth Advisory Board to ensure that the youth affairs are run according to the Kenya National Youth Council Bill.
I had initially suggested that they offer just support but after going through the bill we felt that the powers could remain more or less the same but with adjustments on appointments on the youth representative who shouldbe part of the council. This way, it will not be a worry on whether the PS for youth affairs sits on both the council and the board. He can chair the council meeting but attend the Board Executive meetings just like any other member.
The bill should allow the Youth Advisory Board to come up with the way forward on how they want to appoint the youth council representatives.
NOTE: Could we have a youth Executive Board coming in between the Council and the Advisory Board?
These could comprise of Representatives from the Council e.g. The Chairman, Secretary and maybe one or two other members from the council. (Should the council chairperson still be the one to chair the Executive Board?). Their presence is necessary to enable the executive board to be always updated on plans and the controls. This will also speed up decision making process when it comes to issues that require the council's approval.
We can have the 8 youth representatives either nominated or appointed by the youth advisory board (We felt that the youths should be let to decide on whatever criteria they wish to follow when it comes to appointing these 8 people so long as all the youths all over Kenya are well represented.) It's also okay to have one person each nominated by each of the following bodies, and appointed by the Minister: The Kenya private sector alliance, The NGO council, the Commission for higher education, The joint Forum of religious organizations, The Kenya National Commission of Human rights, The National Economic and Social Council, The National Council for Persons and Disabilities, The National Youth Service, LSK, and any other youth experts.
The Function of the Board should be to advice both the council and the Board generally on the exercise of their powers and the performance of their actions.
Then from here we can now have the;
The Youth Advisory Board.
Their major responsibility should be to provide the overall direction and management of youth affairs. This ground belongs to the youth. We may also need representatives from various youth organizations at this point (But this is optional).
The board should actually be the owners of the whole youth affairs and act as the voice to the world because we expect them to be the custodians of the bill. Besides, the youths should be consulted to decide on whether they want the board to be democracy ruled by votes or should we leave them (the advisory board) to be the key decision makers with advice and support from both the Council, youth executive board and all the other youths from all over Kenya ?
Let's not forget that it should be the responsibility of The Youth Advisory to nominate the team that should work with the both the council and the executive board at the top. And it is also at this point that we should determine on whether there should be election of youth council representatives, or nominations or any other process that will be considered.
Major Concern:
Should the bill go to parliament the way it is before correction? Having a wrong bill passed and not having a bill at all till a later date, which is better? Because I am not sure if we all got it wrong – The bill has been designed in a way that it belongs to the office of the president and the minister and not the youths! And it has no criteria that both the President and the Minister should follow in making appointments.
These were just but immediate concerns from our meeting this afternoon. I gave each of us a copy of the bill and advised all of them to go through it once again in details over the weekend. Incase of any other comments, I will forward them on Monday Morning after another meeting with probably a larger group on Sunday in the afternoon.
Regards,
Carole.
From: Carole <carolusus@yahoo.com>
To: nyciv@googlegroups.com
Sent: Friday, July 24, 2009 1:23:47 PM
Subject: NYC Re: National Youth Council Bill 2009
Thanks Eustace, You are great. We will go through it.
From: Eustace Kinyua <eustacekinyua@gmail.com>
To: nyciv@googlegroups.com
Sent: Friday, July 24, 2009 1:02:32 PM
Subject: NYC National Youth Council Bill 2009
Hallo
Guys please see attached copy of the National Youth Council Bill 2009 for your informed comments and critiques.
Best regards
--
Eustace Kinyua Ndiga
Tel:0721594220
Alternative email:eustacekinyua@yahoo.com
Web Page:http://euskinworld.page.tl
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
Groups "NYCIV" National Youth Convention where ideas are born.
To post to this group, send email to nyciv@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
nyciv+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/nyciv?hl=en?hl=en or www.nyckenya.org
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
No comments:
Post a Comment