MPs seek to annul regulations that make it costlier to hire a security guard
The National Assembly committee on delegated legislation on Thursday moved a motion to annul the Private Security (General) Regulations, 2019 which have significant effects on the country’s 500,000 private security guards.
“It’s on the basis of the incontinence that we actually made a recommendation that this regulation be annulled. It is the considered opinion and recommendation of this particular committee that the regulations and the consideration be annulled entirely in accordance with the law,” Said Hon Murungara George Gitonga who moved the motion.
The motion was seconded by Gilgil MP Martha Wangari, who submitted that the regulation should be made consistent with the parent Act, the Kenyan Constitution and other statute.
“We require regulation making authorities to provide the necessary back-up and backing documentation to be able to show they have taken adequate time to go around the country for all the users and consumers of the regulations to be appraised to where they should be,” Said Wangari.
The move by the legislators is a big win for Protective Security Industry Association (PSIA), an umbrella body for more than 100 small and medium sized companies offering private security, led by chairperson Cosmas Mutava.
The private security companies, through a memorandum to the National Assembly, had asked that the time provided to effect the regulation be extended to 3 years to allow all the private security players to comply accordingly.
From January 5, 2020, the new rules in the Private Security (General) Regulations 2019, required that all the 2,500 companies that offer private security services to register with the Private Security Regulatory Authority (PSRA).
The new regulations also made it mandatory for individuals and companies seeking services of security guards to only engage with registered compliant firms, and those that fail to comply facing stiff penalties for violating the law.
Clause (19) of the Private Security (General) Regulations, 2019 requires all employees of private security providers to undergo mandatory training and receive a certificate from the PSRA as their employers remit a fee to the regulator.
Proposals contained in the stringent law includes a new higher minimum wage for guards making it unaffordable to most Kenyan homesteads and a change of uniforms that resemble those of State officers in color and design.
The Private Security (General) Regulations 2019, were gazetted on July 5 by Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i.