YOUTH, Sport, Arts and Recreation minister Kirsty Coventry yesterday told Parliament that understaffing at the Attorney-General’s (AG) Office had delayed drafting of the National Youth Bill.
The Bill seeks to provide for, among other things, youth empowerment, mechanisms for active and meaningful participation of youth in nation building, and to establish youth focal desks in government ministries, among others.
Coventry told the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Youth led by Matthias Tongofa that she was concerned over the delays.
“The delays are because of understaffing at the Attorney-General (AG)’s Office. I share the same fear with you. I know that the AG’s Office does not have enough drafters. I understand they have many Bills that they are working on.
“We are working closely with them to try and see if we can assist them. We are pushing because there are a lot of fundamentals that the Bill will allow our young people to have, and so we need the Bill,” she said.
Section 20 of the Constitution stipulates that youths must be accorded access to appropriate education and training, have opportunities to associate and to be represented and participate in political, social, economic and other spheres of life.
