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{
    "id": 574127,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/574127/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 256,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Mwaura",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13129,
        "legal_name": "Isaac Maigua Mwaura",
        "slug": "isaac-mwaura"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. This Sessional Paper is very important to the youth of this country because, for a long time, young people have been giving their free services to the Government, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and even churches for purposes of getting accredited for graduation, but there has not been any kind of reward or guideline in terms of their engagement. The only incentive that the young people have been told is that in their CVs, they do not need to say that they are not being paid. In fact, my own experience has been that if you are an intern somewhere--- I remember when I first graduated from my undergraduate programme. You get surprised when you start being paid for what you are doing for free. That, in itself, critically shows that, sometimes, cheap labour can be exploited when people do not know how to negotiate. If you look at the people who are graduating from our universities and tertiary institutions, it is becoming increasingly difficult for them to even get internship positions. I am sure most Members would agree with me that they keep on getting requests to help constituents or individuals get internship positions. That, in itself, is a bit worrying because it shows the kind of manpower that we are developing. I greatly note the reservations of the Vice-Chairperson of the Committee with the word “manpower” because it is gender insensitive. However, the completion of a course cannot be done without real hands-on experience because that is the inter-link between theory and practice. I want to paraphrase the late Hon. Martin Shikuku who used to say that there is no school that teaches a subject called experience. Therefore, this policy gives a broad statement of intent that would ensure that this critical area of human resource development and national productivity is inter-linked and well-regulated. We have had many cases of young people who are told that they intern for some time in anticipation for placement or employment, only for them to be told that there is no vacancy after they have volunteered for work. If you look at this country you will realise that quite a number of our people are underemployed. Sometimes, even when you look at the public service, you realise that people have the same qualifications and experience, but there is a very big disparity in terms of how much they get paid. This can be attributed to the entry behaviour. If, for example, you get into an internship position that is not properly regulated, you are more often than not likely to be underpaid. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I support the adoption of this Sessional Paper that the Ministry of Labour, Social Security and Services should go ahead and enact the relevant legislation. NETA should possibly be enacted through an Act of Parliament rather than a legal notice. It should ensure that there are proper guidelines that are properly disseminated so that our 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."
}