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{
    "id": 1439722,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1439722/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 150,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mandera South, UDM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Abdul Haro",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker, for giving me this opportunity to make my contribution on this very important Bill. From the onset, I support the Public Service Internship Bill that has been sponsored by Hon. Naisula Lesuuda, Member for Samburu West. This Bill is timely and welcome. I will start by stating that Article 55 of the Constitution provides that the State shall take measures, including affirmative action programmes, to ensure that the youth have access to services such as education, training and employment, and also to have opportunities to participate in social and economic spheres. Currently, Kenya does not have a robust law on internship and that is why this Bill by Hon. Lesuuda is very timely and most welcome. It is going to cure some of the problems that we have had in that sector. It is a fact that most private and public firms do not pay interns. Many interns struggle on a daily basis as they attend to their duties of internship in public and private institutions. Of course, some institutions pay interns out of their own volition. This is one of the reasons why we must have an internship legal framework to make sure that private and public institutions are governed by the provisions of a law that supports interns as they do their internship. The National Employment Authority Act only talks about issues of placement of interns in public institutions, but they do not address the question of stipends to interns. The National Employment Authority Act talks about the placement of interns into public institutions. However, it does not address the question of the stipend, which is why this Bill is very important. Who is an intern? According to the online Oxford Dictionary, “intern’ is the position of a student or trainee who works in an organisation, sometimes without pay, in order to gain work experience or satisfy the requirements for qualification. As other contributors have said, apart from being unpaid, interns are misused. Intern doctors, teachers, lawyers, engineers and technologists are reduced to photocopying assistants, messengers, storekeepers, office cleaners and errands boys and girls. This Bill will, therefore, give dignity to internship. This Bill also addresses the welfare of interns, the matter around monthly pay, sick leave, and especially Articles 10(10) and (11), which address the issue of personal accident insurance coverage and subsistence. When interns are attached to private or public institutions, they are supported with a small stipend for their food, transport and airtime. Hon. Temporary Speaker, the Bill also seeks to address the working conditions for interns. It covers both the interns who are working in the national and county governments. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}