PSC cites cash crunch in youth internship plans

The Public Service Commission (PSC) has told Parliament it does not have adequate cash to hire youths under the State internship plan.

The PSC and the National Employment Authority (NEA) want Parliament to compel the Treasury to introduce an internship budget in all ministries, departments and agencies of government (MDAs) to solve the funding crunch.

The PSC and the authority told a parliamentary committee that it faces financial challenges in implementing the internship policy for the public service intended to give the youth an opportunity to gain work experience and be competitive in the job market.

“For effective implementation of internships in the MDAs, the National Treasury will be requested to introduce a budget line in all MDAs to ensure adequate funding for the internship programmes,” the PSC, chaired by Prof Margaret Kobia, said in its annual report to Parliament.

PSC vice-chairperson Peter ole Nkuraiyia told the Senate Committee on Labour that the commission has a paid internship policy.

“We have an internship policy for public service that offers a maximum monthly stipend of Sh25,000 per intern. Ministries take in the interns based on available budget,” Mr Nkuraiyia told the committee chaired by Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja.

Winnie Partet, chairperson of NEA, said the authority is developing a national internship policy for both public and private sector that incorporates the PSC internship policy.

“We are finalising a national internship policy to ensure that it is inclusive and incorporates both public and private sector institutions,” she said.

“It will be our joy to make it mandatory for all employers, private or public, to offer an internship to the youth.”

READ: Public sector interns to earn Sh25,000 monthly

Mr Sakaja asked the PSC and the NEA to review the stipend interns would earn monthly by scraping the maximum amount.

“This limits employers with big budgets. I know of a bank that gives its interns a monthly stipend of Sh40,000. Some law firms also give interns up to Sh100,000,” he said.

He proposed that the policy should peg the monthly stipends to interns at the approved minimum wage, which currently stands at Sh13,000.

Mr Sakaja said the law on employment applies to public and private sectors and that the former must be mandated to take in interns while the latter is given incentives such as tax rebates for offering training opportunities to interns.

“The NEA needs to demonstrate to us clearly that youth are getting employment and internship opportunities in government and how you are providing incentives to private sector companies that hire people straight from university with less than six months work experience,” he said.