Sharma, in Kenya, offers legal drafters to help implement constitution

Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma offered legal drafters to help implement the country’s new constitution following a request by the government of President Mwai Kibaki.

Mr Sharma told Attorney-General Amos Wako and Justice, National Cohesion and Constitutional Affairs Minister Mutula Kilonzo in separate meetings on 13 September 2010 that the Commonwealth had accepted Kenya’s request to provide specialist legal drafters in the areas of finance, devolution, and land.

The first of these experts would arrive in Kenya by end of September, Mr Sharma said.

“We are committed to Kenya for the long-term. The new constitution is a major milestone for this country and for the Commonwealth, and we look forward to assisting Kenya in all ways it deems necessary,” Mr Sharma told Attorney-General Wako.

Justice Minister Kilonzo told the Secretary-General that Kenya would also request the Commonwealth to provide three judges required for a new provision that demands the vetting of judges, an important step in installing accountability to Kenya’s judiciary.

Mr Sharma also met young leaders and entrepreneurs at an event organised by the Peter Munga Foundation, which the Commonwealth Secretariat is partnering in assisting young people with capacity-building, credit to kickstart business, mentoring and leadership skills and knowledge.

The foundation was instrumental in a decision by Kenya’s Equity Bank to make nearly 500,000 pounds sterling available to young people in collateral-free loans to enable them to start businesses.

“It is called character lending. You give money to a young person with a sound business proposal and no collateral and then help them with business mentoring and monitoring to ensure they can succeed,” said Mr Munga, himself the founder of Equity Bank.

“These innovative approaches position young people as job creators and not job seekers and that is what is necessary for a country to grow in a sustainable way. You do not want to see youth idleness emerging because of lack of opportunities,” Mr Sharma said.

Mr Sharma also warned against cosmetic measures to empower young people, saying proper and sustained resources were necessary to ensure that youth were at the heart of business, government and civil society.

“They should be empowered in a proper sustained way. Anything less would be cosmetic and counter-productive,” the Secretary-General said.

On a busy day, Mr Sharma also met United Nations Environment Programme Executive Director Achim Steiner and discussed the Commonwealth's climate change initiatives.

Mr Sharma delivered a keynote address at the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association’s 56th conference in Nairobi on 14 September 2010, before heading to Zambia the next day.

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