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{
    "id": 1439692,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1439692/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 120,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kitui South, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. (Dr) Rachael Nyamai",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13374,
        "legal_name": "Richard Ken Chonga Kiti",
        "slug": "richard-ken-chonga-kiti"
    },
    "content": "In this Bill, the stipend that is supposed to be paid to those interns has been raised. This is a matter that needs to be looked into so that this stipend can sustain them. It should provide them with transport to work, a place to sleep and ability to stay in a working environment. As the proposer of this Bill has suggested, it is important to put more money so as to enhance the stipend. This Bill also talks about the responsibilities of both the institution and interns. I support it because it is establishing a committee that will ensure that the announcements are made. Most times, Members of Parliament get so many messages and letters from students who are seeking for placements. I usually pick all the letters, make a table, write their names, skills and the institution they want to be placed. Then, I forward the names to the Public Service Commission (PSC). This is not a good way of handling this matter. This Bill will enable the interns to have proper placements. When they get to the institution, a committee will induct them and ensure they are told their responsibilities - what to do or not to do. I believe this is important whether they are hired in that institution or not. The responsibilities of interns will be stipulated very clearly. When an intern is placed in an institution, they must know it is a workplace. In as much as they are young, they should know what they can or cannot do in that institution. This will include proper handling of both the hard and soft assets. I want to mention something very sensitive. This morning, I received a letter from Junior Secondary School (JSS) intern teachers from Kitui South. Their contracts have been terminated because they participated in a strike. I do not know whether I am the only Member of Parliament who has received such a letter. The reason as to why we are receiving letters from those intern teachers is because there is no proper law on how long their internship was supposed to last, how much they were going to be paid and the termination conditions. Therefore, as we debate this Bill, I want to ask the TSC to hire all those intern teachers who may have been involved in one matter or another without discrimination. I did not see the intern teachers from Kitui South participating in a strike on television. I am appealing to the TSC as the Member of Parliament representing those from Mutomo and Ikutha who have been terminated. In the spirit of this Bill which we are discussing today, they should hire them. I believe they are not the only ones who participated in the strike. I ask very kindly for forgiveness in case they were involved in any form of impropriety. This might have been caused by failure to have money to feed their children. That is my humble appeal. Going back to the Bill, I want to encourage the interns when hired, to ensure they are available and their presence is felt. They should be available when the Managing Director is looking for someone to send like Hon. Lesuuda did at KBC, so that the moment they finish their internship, they are called back. As I finish, I want to say that I was an intern at Kenyatta University. I was given an opportunity of being a graduate assistant and I carried books for Prof. Otiende and Prof. Sifuna. I made sure I carried the books nicely, wiped the table, got a comfortable seat and placed the notes. In fact, I made sure that the table was not flat, but a bit elevated. This is because as professors age, they do not see very well. The university gave me my first job and I was paid Ksh11,000. I was excited because I did not know how to use all the money they were paying me. This is the seed an intern can plant in a ministry, semi-autonomous Government agencies (SAGAs) or a court when they get an internship position. With that, I support Hon. Lesuuda and the good work that has been done by the Committee."
}