Job seekers' agony in securing clearance certificates from Government agencies

NAIROBI, KENYA: A few days ago, the Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB) Chief Executive Ezekiel Mutua took to his FaceBook page to rant about the many clearance certificates that job seekers are required to obtain, before applying for entry-level posts in government.

The controversial KFCB boss in his trademark boisterous banter took on the Government he serves for frustrating young job seekers with hefty clearance demands that come at a substantial cost.

“It is morally wrong to require of a job seeker to have clearance certificates from Higher Education Loans Board (HELB), Kenya Revenue Authority, Certificate of Good Conduct, Credit Reference Bureau among others,” Dr Mutua lashed out.

“I had to get all these certificates myself when I was applying for Permanent Secretary and CEO posts. But I do not approve of them being required of fresh job seekers. They should be limited to senior posts that are governed by the dictates of Chapter Six on Leadership and Integrity but not of fresh university graduates,” he added.

The KFCB boss asserted that as a CEO, he will never ask a fresh graduate to produce such documents when seeking a job in his organisation. “Let’s stop oppressing the oppressed!” Mutua warned.

True to Mutua’s assertions, State corporations and other agencies that recruit their staff through the Public Service Commission are hell-bent on having job seekers produce these documents, an occurrence that has seen the government rake in millions from the job seekers.

A spot check by the Financial Standard has established that for a job seeker to obtain a clearance certificate from HELB he has to part with Sh1,000.

The money has to be paid whether the job seeker took a loan while at the university or not. Even more bizarre, the money still has to be paid even if someone did not go to university at all!

Certified documents

To get clearance from CRB, you have to part with Sh2,200. A Certificate of Good Conduct goes for Sh1,050, while at the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), a job seeker will have to pay Sh500 to prove his integrity.

The total cost of obtaining these documents stands at about Sh4,750.

This will be in addition to several copies of the other certificates that one has to print and photocopy with some agencies requiring over ten copies of the certified documents.

Charging by the huge number of Kenyans applying for jobs, a single exercise attracting 60,000 persons may give the government about Sh282 million.

This is despite the fact that due to the high unemployment rate in Kenya, many of these job seekers will not secure these jobs even after parting with their money.

According to the Human Development Index (HDI) 2017, Kenya’s unemployment rate stood at 39.1 per cent as of November last year.

Strangely, the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, which is charged with collecting and analysing data for government use, has not collected any data on the unemployment rate in the country.

HDI’s figures reflect high youth unemployment rate. This is even as companies continue to downsize due to the harsh economic environment.

Kenya has the highest unemployment rate in East Africa. Countries such as Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda have recorded a lower unemployment rate compared to Kenya.

Last year, when the Judiciary advertised 1,000 clerical jobs, almost 60,000 people applied.

All were required to come up with these certificates, paying them upfront to the already named state agencies.

Judiciary Chief Registrar Anne Amadi conceded that they had to put up with getting more resources and personnel to handle the overwhelming number of applicants.

“We had to get extra personnel to receive and register the applications since most of them are hand delivered and also look for extra storage for the thousands of documents received,” Ms Amadi said.

The Institute of Human Resource Management (IHRM) Executive Director Dorcas Wainaina was appalled to learn that State agencies ask for all these certificates even for entry-level jobs. “I just hope that this is a system error within the State employment machinery and not a policy issue because if it is, then there must be something very wrong with such a policy,” said Ms Wainaina.

“Why would you ask fresh job seekers for these certificates? They have not even taken loans or got jobs to pay HELB. I don’t see the prudence of that. These requirements should be for those seeking leadership roles in organisations only,” she added.

Ms Wainaina explained that the very notion of obtaining a letter of integrity from the EACC holds no water since the agency itself does no verification for those applying for the certificate.

She argued that many State officers who have been entangled in corruption cases during their time in office did at one time apply for these integrity tests and were confidently cleared by EACC.

“When I applied for the director’s position at IHRM, I was required to produce all these documents but that was okay for me, ” Wainaina says.

“I went to EACC and once I paid the Sh500, they immediately stamped my clearance letter without checking anything about me. How did they know my integrity?”

She was categorical in asserting that such expensive clearances should not be asked of entry-level positions in government.

Adding to Ms Wainaina’s sentiments is IHRM Chairman Elijah Situma, who feels entry level jobs should be left out of these clearance requirements.

Mr Situma hails the recruitment policies in the private sector, saying unlike in the government where all these documents are requested, the private sector hires a candidate at the right time when due diligence has been done to ascertain their capabilities and suitability for the job description.

“In government, you will find that someone has been given a desk but three months later, they don’t have a clue what they are supposed to do. In the private sector, the company checks its bottom line and hires according to how the employee contributes to the welfare of that,” Situma said.

Wainana concurs that unlike in government where an integrity clearance is required, in the private sector a job seeker will not be asked to pay for such a certificate.

Instead, the firm will conduct a reference check on the successful candidate for even 12 months after they assume their duties to check their suitability.

The last time the issue of saving job seekers from the tyranny of all these clearances from the State was raised in Parliament was by Nominated Senator Isaac Mwaura, took upon himself the task of filing a petition to have the clearances reviewed.

“Other than the cost for the documents, job seekers also incur other expenses emanating from their movement from one place to another in search of the documents,” said Mwaura.

“We do not want State agencies which are already funded by the taxpayers to profiteer from desperate Kenyans who are searching for jobs.”