Public Service Commission (PSC) Chairperson Francis Meja has called on chief executive officers of state corporations and vice chancellors of public universities to identify and declare available vacancies as the government prepares to expand the Public Service Internship Programme (PSIP) from 8,000 to 50,000 interns in January 2027.
Meja urged state corporations and public universities to play an active role in mentoring interns, emphasizing that the programme is intended to equip young professionals with practical workplace experience and prepare them for the competitive job market.
He raised concerns over cases in previous internship intakes where interns were assigned menial duties, including serving as office messengers, instead of being given meaningful professional responsibilities.
"The purpose of this programme is to prepare these young people for the job market. They are professionals in their own right, and reducing them to messengers is really missing the bigger point. Kindly help us address that; we have noted it as a major challenge," said Meja.
The PSC chairperson announced that the Commission would formally communicate with government ministries and state agencies, requiring them to submit reports detailing available vacancies and staffing needs to facilitate the planned expansion.
He made the remarks in Mombasa while officially opening a two-day capacity-building forum for state corporations and public universities at the Kenya School of Government (KSG), Mombasa Campus.
Meanwhile Cabinet Secretary for Public Service Geoffrey Ruku has issued a stern warning to civil servants over absenteeism and negligence following an impromptu inspection of government offices on Monday, November 2, 2026.
The CS expressed shock after reportedly finding that more than 70 per cent of national government employees were absent from their workstations, with interns allegedly left to run various government offices in the absence of permanent staff.
Ruku condemned the conduct, questioning why public servants paid through taxpayers' money were failing to report to work and fulfil their responsibilities.
"It’s very disheartening to find that public servants paid by the taxpayers are not taking their work seriously," Ruku stated.
Following the inspection, two human resource managers are expected to appear before a disciplinary committee over alleged failure to monitor staff attendance and maintain proper operational standards.
The Cabinet Secretary also issued a nationwide warning against civil servants taking early Christmas leave, insisting that government offices must remain fully operational and that public servants must uphold their responsibilities.
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