Activity 1: Induction of young Members of Parliament (National Assembly and Senate) and capacity building on oversight
KYPA first sought to equip the in-coming young legislators, with the requisite skills necessary for pursuing fiscal justice for the youth. This entailed an orientational capacity building engagement by experts in finance that KYPA drew from both government and civil society. KYPA conducted a two-day induction of the young members of parliament and a two-day training to enhance their capacity in oversight in the use of public resources. The training was conducted in partnership with the Centre for Parliamentary Studies and Training (CPST), the Office of the Auditor General, and the Institute of Economic Affairs. Drawing lessons from the 11th parliament, KYPA intended to capture the vim of the new legislators within the first year so that the tone is set for the 12th parliament before laxity and a campaign mode begin.
Objective:
The objective of this activity was to build and strengthen the oversight capacity of young Members of Parliament to better exercise executive oversight including in national budget approvals and expenditures in the interest of the youth and better perform their legislative and oversight functions.
Activity 2: Induction of MCAs and capacity building on oversight in select counties
While KYPA is an association of young parliamentarians, the Members of County Assemblies (MCAs), who are representatives at the Ward level play a key oversight role at the county level and provide a great opportunity to oversight the fiscal processes for youth at the county level. County governments collectively control more than half of national fiscal resources since devolution was implemented at the start of the 11th parliament. The constitution of Kenya in Article 181 and section 33 of the County Governments Act empowers MCAs to even impeach the governor in instances of gross misconduct or abuse of office. KYPA intended to harness these strengths by first identifying young MCAs in select counties. Their capacities were then built and strengthened in oversighting fiscal processes at the county level to ensure that there is representation, accountability, and oversight of funds meant for the youth within the selected counties.
Objective:
To build and strengthen the oversight capacity of MCAs to better exercise oversight in county budget approvals and expenditures in the interest of the youth and better perform their legislative and oversight functions at the county level.
Activity 3: Enhancement of young MPs outreach to the youth to better represent their interest and strengthen dialogue between them and the youth leaders in universities:
MPs need to improve their outreach generally to the youth. However, because of challenges of resources, this project focused on creating a platform for young members of parliament to engage with university student leaders on accountable governance, in respect to efficient management of public resources. Young members of parliament should play a role in addressing national and governance issues affecting the youth’s access to resources and provide a mechanism for discussion and problem solving and promoting young people’s involvement pushing for in accountable governance. In this respect, KYPA supported a colloquium of university student leaders and young MPs on oversight in the use of public resources. The colloquium also formed a platform for role modelling and mentoring.
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