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{
    "id": 1439751,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1439751/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 179,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Marakwet West, Independent",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Timothy Kipchumba",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker, for giving me this opportunity to contribute on this very important Motion. At the outset, I wish to congratulate and thank Hon. Lesuuda, the MP for Samburu West, for bringing such a progressive Bill before this House. This is a Bill that will give us a proper legal and institutional framework in so far as internship is concerned in this country. For far too long, we have had a lacuna in law. We have had a gap in law in respect to internship. I believe that this Bill will cure that lacuna by putting in place a comprehensive legal framework to cover that gap. Internship in this country has not been addressed for quite a long period of time. We have left interns to the hands of institutions that do not follow a specific legislation to protect their interests. It is time that interns are dignified pursuant to this law that we shall debate and possibly pass. I call upon the Members of this House, that when the time comes, we pass this law so that we dignify our interns. Recently, there was a court ruling by the Employment and Labour Relations Court at Milimani. That case was between an NGO called Forum for Good Governance and Human Rights versus TSC and two others. The substratum of that ruling was that the recruitment process of teacher interns by TSC was declared a nullity. In respect of the case, Justice Ongoya said that the respondents, meaning the TSC, have not exhibited statutory, regulatory or policy arrangements that would entitle the first respondent, TSC, to employ the interns. That means that the court was not satisfied that TSC would employ interns without a proper legal and institutional framework. The court went on to say that TSC violated the right to fair labour practice by giving teachers internship positions while they were qualified and possessed teaching licenses. Purely, it signifies and underpins the importance of this legislation. If this law was in place, the court would not have declared the employment of teacher interns illegal and unconstitutional. Now that we shall have such a legal framework if it is enacted by this House, it means that the issue of teacher interns and all other interns in the Public Service will have been protected by the law. I am a product of internship. When I completed my postgraduate in law, I went for internship. Before you are admitted to the Bar, you undergo what is called pupillage in a private law firm. That is where you are under the tutelage of a senior legal counsel. After that tutelage, you will be able to open a law firm and practise law. The experience that an intern gets, just like our doctors, forms the basis of an individual who shall serve both the public and the private sector with honour and dignity. Of course, they will gain the requisite experience to serve in that office. On the issue of budgeting, so that we avoid haphazard budgeting process, it is good that we now have this legal framework which will inform the budgeting process so that when we are budgeting, we have certain monies allocated to different departments for the purpose of 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."
}