Senators now want the other government agencies to follow in the footsteps of the Central Bank and scrap fees for clearance certificates for youths applying for jobs.
CBK boss Patrick Njoroge on Tuesday announced the scrapping of fees for those seeking Credit Reference Bureau certificates for the first time.
“First-time CRB clearance certificates will be provided by CRBs at no charge. This is particularly beneficial to Kenyan youth and graduates who are seeking employment,” Njoroge said in a statement.
The announcement came only months after the Senate passed a resolution compelling the government to remove the need for clearance, especially for youths applying for jobs.
This after nominated Senator Isaac Mwaura petitioned the house seeking its intervention to protect the youths who he said were suffering for lack of money to acquire the certificates.
The petition was committed to the house Labour and Social Welfare committee chaired by Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja which inquired into the matter and recommended the scrapping of the fees.
“Youth especially the fresh graduates from both tertiary, technical and university have uphill task to get clearance from Higher Education Loans Board, Kenya Revenue Authority, Credit Reference Bureau and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission,” read the petition by Mwaura.
According to the petition, Kenyans were paying Sh1, 050 for a clearance certificate from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, Sh1,000 for HELB clearance, Sh1,000 for EACC certificate and Sh2,000 for CRB clearance.
In an interview with the Star, Mwaura now wants all other agencies – HELB, DCI, EACC and KRA – to fully implement the house resolution.
“It will now be free to get the (CRB) certificate as you apply for a job and you don’t have to cough Sh2, 000 as is the case currently. It is now time that all the other agencies follow suite. We need to protect our youth fresh from colleges or are struggling to make ends meet,” he said.
According to Mwaura, many young people are losing government opportunities because they don’t have money to acquire the mandatory clearance certificates.
Sakaja said the agencies should ϖnot only remove the fees but remove the requirements for clearance certificates for those seeking government jobs.
