Use Part of Elimu Bursary For school Feeding Program, Says Legislator
Nyeri Senator Wahome Wamatinga has called upon Kahiga to use Sh200 million earmarked for the Elimu Bursary to help fund a comprehensive school feeding program.
Wamatinga stated that such funds will supplement any other donations made to the kitty, which aims to fund 70 public schools by the end of the year.
Kahiga promised to increase the amount of money earmarked for bursaries from Sh160 million to Sh200 million during his speech at the Nyeri County Assembly on October 5, this year.
This, according to the governor’s second term, will help to meet the growing demand for vulnerable and needy cases.
The Senator also stated that he believes the impasse surrounding the NGF-CDF, which was deemed illegal by the Supreme Court, will be resolved one day in order to improve measures addressing emerging challenges such as hunger among Kenyans.
“We do hope the matter surrounding the National Government Constituency Fund will be resolved as it had a five percent allocation that catered for emergencies such as what we are experiencing in this country.
“Once this issue is settled, I will request our legislators to be setting some funds in supporting feeding programs in our public schools in the event we face a similar crisis like the one we face at the moment,” he told the media.
How Sh500m Nyandarua bursary kitty was spent few days before polls
Days before the August 9 elections, the Nyandarua County Assembly was told how Sh500 million was spent.
A former County Executive Committee member who is now a ward representative claimed that the governor’s bursary fund, which had Sh500 million, had been depleted just days before the elections.
Kiriita MCA Milka Wanjiru stated that a large portion of the budget for the current fiscal year was spent in three weeks. Ms Wanjiru, a former Water executive in ex-governor Francis Kimemia’s administration, made the claim on the assembly floor.
“The money was disbursed haphazardly in a span of three weeks to the election. Today, the list of beneficiaries and the amounts disbursed has not been made available for scrutiny,” she said.
She made the claims on Tuesday, when she asked the Assembly’s Education Committee for a statement.
She told the hushed House that the county administers two bursary funds, one under the Department of Education and one under the governor’s office.
The county executive also established the Governor’s Scholarship Fund for needy students, with close to Sh500 million allocated.
“We need to know how much was allocated, what each beneficiary got, as well as the balances remaining as the department has not yet released any report on the two funds.”
She advocated for transparency in ward committee appointments that disburse funds.
“There is [no] framework that governs the governor’s kitty for needy students,” she said.
“There is a need to come up with a framework that governs the kitty. The former administration claimed to have issued the bursaries on August 8, as a bait to seek re-election but as we speak, many needy students are at home for lack of school fees.”
North Kinangop MCA Edinald King’ori revealed that Sh75 million was supposed to be distributed to the county’s 25 wards, with each receiving Sh3 million, but some wards received no money.
Mr King’ori, who was re-elected, claimed that the previous governor failed to sign the County Bursary Bill.
“We passed the County Bursary Bill but the former governor did not sign it into law, yet nothing was communicated to the House,” said Mr King’ori, who was majority leader in the second assembly.
He went on to say that the bill was intended to put all students in the county on an equal footing.
MCA Leshau Pondo The Education Committee chair, Kamau Gathungu, stated that a statement would be ready in 14 days.
