The Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) says the government internship programme needs proper regulation to avoid possibilities of having the programme abused.

PAC Chairperson Shadric Namalomba said this in Lilongwe during an interface with officials from the Labour Ministry.

He said “Our concern as a committee is that we have interns but we don’t have a provision in the law that regulates the interns to be employed, no conditions of service, nothing.”

“Yes they are students but some of them are graduates and they have completed their studies so our concern is that for how long we are going to have these students.”

According to Namalomba, the way government is running the internship programme leaves a lot to be desired as there is no condition of service a situation leading to interns staying on internship over one year.

“It is not only in government, even the private sector also gets interns on board what are the conditions that should govern them, the does not say anything about students interns.

“And we are afraid because we fear that their conditions would be jeopardise, no one is talking about their rights, these students have got rights and obligations, right to employment,” said Namalomba.

Government recruits the interns on a one-year contract period and they are given a monthly stipend of MK80, 000.