Kenyans have expressed their disaffection at the fact that all government jobs require applicants to submit a Credit Reference Bureau (CRB) clearance certificate.
A majority of Kenyans have been listed on the CRB list – and the list is growing each day as jobs remain scarce.
Some Kenyans recently made their feelings known after the government put out advertisements announcing job openings at the Office of The Attorney General and the Office of the Public Prosecution. One of the requirements which appeared to give most Kenyans grey hair was asking applicants to present CRB clearance document.
According to Metropol which is one of the three licensed CRBs alongside TransUnion and Creditinfo International, the number of loans accounts in arrears had hit 14 million by January 2021 up from 9 million in August 2020.
“Obviously people are struggling with repayment even those who had restructured their loans,” Metropol managing director Sam Omukoko told the Business Daily at the time.
To curb the rising numbers of individuals listed on CRB, the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) revoked the approval of digital lenders to share data and exempted those who had borrowed less than Sh1,000.
The move affected 337 digital mobile lenders and offered some Kenyans some reprieve.
Meanwhile, only 39 banks, 14 microfinance banks and saccos were allowed to forward names to CRB.
But going by their reactions upon seeing the job requirement – one can tell that many are still listed on CRB especially because the pandemic has led to thousands of job losses.
Other requirements on the jobs were; individuals to have clearance certificate from Directorate of Criminal Investigations, Kenya Revenue Authority, Ethic and Anti-Corruption Commission, Higher Educations Loans Board where applicable.