Kenyans applying for government jobs will no longer be required to get clearance from public firms if the county and national government agencies implement a resolution by the Senate.
The lawmakers have endorsed a report by a House committee recommending the scrapping of the need for clearance for job seekers.
Government institutions currently demand of clearance certificates from the Kenya Revenue Authority, Credit Reference Bureau, Higher Education Loans Board, Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission and certificate of good conduct from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations.
But the report by the Labour and Social Welfare committee recommended that job applicants, especially the youth, should not be subjected to the tedious process of seeking the clearance.
“The committee notes that the PSC does not request job applicants for clearance certificates. The commission gets the clearance from government agencies once it has recruited successful applicants,” the report reads.
The committee chaired by Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja inquired into the need for the clearance certificates following a petition by Nominated Senator Isaac Mwaura.
In the petition, Mwaura argued that the demand for such documents was unfair to individuals seeking their first placement and income besides being costly.
The committee recommended to the County Public Service boards and County Assembly Service boards to emulate the Public Service Commission and source for clearance from the relevant government agencies for successful applicants.
“Therefore, there would be no need to tell the applicants to bring the copies yet the PSC normally does the work,” it reads.
The committee argued that the school leaving certificates should be enough and that school leavers should not be required to provide self-declaration forms or a tax clearance certificate.
It said that there should be an integrated system between the government agencies and the PSC and the Public Service Board where documents verification is shared among institutions upon request by the agencies.
The committee also directed the agencies to make all government job applications free to enable unemployed Kenyans to apply for the opportunities.
“As far as the committee is aware, the government job applications are free of charge and costs incurred are when looking for clearances.”
Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei, who tabled the report on the floor, said, “The Senate should assist us in this report and also direct various agencies to zero in on the cost of clearances. We want a situation whereby any young person in this country can obtain a certificate of good conduct free of charge. The same should apply to the EACC, HELB and CRB.”
Edited by R.Wamochie