MPs set to pass law getting rid of clearance certificates for job seekers

Clearance certificate requirement set to be scrapped by MPs

November 11, 2021 12:59 PM

The Bill seeks to amend Section 9 of the Employment Act, 2011.

A general view of Parliament taken on March 26, 2015 in Nairobi as President Uhuru Kenyatta addresses two Houses the Senate and the National Assembly. SIMON MAINA/AFP via Getty Images

Graduates will now be able to seek employment without having to produce any clearance certificates until or unless an offer of employment is guaranteed.

Previously, before introduction of this amendment, job seekers were tasked with the responsibility of running criminal background checks on themselves so as to secure a mere job interview.

Job seekers were needed to produce clearance certificates from the following agencies; Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), Department of Criminal Investigations (DCI), Higher Education Loans Board (HELB), Credit Reference Bureau (CRB) and Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).

"Job seeking should not be an adventure where job seekers must prove that they are not a *criminal* or haven’t engaged in any *crime* in the past.

This country is not graduating *criminals* from universities and colleges every year," tweeted Gideon Keter, Member of Parliament representing the youth.

The lawmaker who is a member of the Labour and Social Welfare Committee was instrumental in passing the bill, ensuring job seekers should not pay Sh750 million every year for clearance certificates.

Gideon Keter, nominated by the Jubilee Party to represent Youth interests in the National Assembly. Pulse Live Kenya

From the research done by the Parliamentary Budget Office, these institutions have been collecting over Sh750 million every year from job seekers, revealed Keter.

Keter further stated that the Government should not make job seeking an unbearable task by adding an extra financial burden on individuals who are already penniless.

"In conclusion, first give the graduates jobs then ask for clearance documents. Young people should not be punished for looking for a job, let them earn money first to afford paying for these documentation," Keter tweeted.