Parliament has ordered a special audit of the Public Service Internship Programme (PSIP), citing persistent payroll anomalies and delayed stipend payments that have dogged one of the government’s flagship youth employment strategies.
The National Assembly Budget and Appropriations Committee wants the Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu to complete the review by December 30, 2026 and cover the programme’s financial and payroll records since inception.
‘This audit is intended to address persistent challenges experienced since the programme’s inception, including payroll inconsistencies, delays in stipend payments, and weaknesses in financial management and accountability systems,’ said the parliamentary committee in a report.
‘Additionally, the funds allocated to the PSIP programme should only be applied for the payment of stipends and not for operational expenses.’
Introduced in 2019, the PSIP seeks to equip graduates with practical workplace experience and improve employability in an economy struggling to create sufficient formal jobs.
The programme places graduates in ministries, departments and agencies across government institutions for a one-year internship at the standard stipend rate of Sh25,000 per month per intern.
Under the deal interns are drawn from all regions and deployed to national government establishments across the country to develop professional skills required in the public sector and the wider labour market.
Graduates recruited under the programme are drawn from a wide range of disciplines including engineering, business, education, humanities, agriculture and social sciences.
The PSIP is funded by the national government with the money mainly used to pay interns’ monthly stipends during the one-year placement period.
Over the years, the programme has expanded into one of the largest graduate placement initiatives run by the government, coinciding with rising youth unemployment and mounting pressure on the State to create opportunities for thousands of graduates entering the labour market annually.
The internship scheme has increasingly become an alternative route into government service as fiscal pressures limit recruitment on permanent and pensionable terms.
Complaints over delayed stipend payments have, however, frequently emerged from beneficiaries, raising concerns about the programme’s administration and operational efficiency.
The latest intervention by Parliament indicates that such concerns have persisted despite repeated allocations from the Exchequer to support the initiative.
The committee’s recommendations come as scrutiny intensifies on the effectiveness of public spending programmes targeting youth employment and skills development.
They also come at a time when public agencies are under pressure to demonstrate prudent use of taxpayer resources amid growing fiscal constraints.