Cabinet approves new policy restructuring of NYS
NYS servicemen during a march-past by the Presidential dais during the National Youth Service pass-out parade at Gilgil, Nakuru County on September 10, 2014. The Cabinet has approved a memorandum from the Youth ministry seeking to submit the NYS Bill 2018 to the National Assembly. FILE PHOTO | NATION
The Cabinet on Thursday approved a memorandum from the Ministry of Youth and Public Service seeking to submit the National Youth Service Bill 2018 to the National Assembly.
The National Youth Service Bill, 2018 contains a raft of measures aimed at strengthening the operations and management of NYS among them the transformation of the department into a body corporate.
Further, the bill aims at fixing the weaknesses identified in its structure which are a hindrance to the achievement of the agency’s mandate by addressing loopholes in the governance and monitoring aspects so as to curb corruption and other related malpractices.
At the meeting chaired by President Uhuru Kenyatta at State House Nairobi and attended by Deputy President William Ruto, the Cabinet also approved guidelines for the implementation of the affordable housing programme, a key plank of the Big 4 Agenda.
The guidelines address aspects such as financing, costing and design of the houses to ensure quality and affordability as well as establishment of a level playing field for both public and private sector investors.
In the same sitting, Cabinet was briefed by the Ministry of Education on the level of preparedness for the efficient delivery of the forthcoming national exams covering both KCPE and KCSE by the various line agencies.
Among the measures, are interventions to ensure candidates with special needs are provided with adapted examination materials such large print exam papers for the partially blind and brailed exam papers for the totally blind.
Cabinet further approved the establishment of the Kenya Export Promotion and Branding Agency (KEPROBA) by merging the Export Promotion Council (EPC) and the Brand Kenya Board.
The establishment of KEPROBA is in line with an earlier Presidential directive on the key objective of the integrated National Exports Development and Promotion Strategy (NEDPS) which the Government launched mid this year, and aims at growing Kenya’s exports at an average rate of 25 percent per annum.
KEPROBA will be a one-stop shop for all trade promotion and branding activities covering local as well as regional and international engagements so as to eliminate duplication and hence create a uniform image of Kenya.
