Members of County Assembly (MCAs) from Isiolo have appealed for just and expeditious disbursement of education bursary as the third term of the institutions of education calendar
commences.
A section of the MCAs led by Education committee chairman David Waithaka (BulapesaWard), Nicholas Lorot (Burat) and Salesio Kiambi (Wabera) said they were going to lobby for fair distribution of the bursary fund allocated to their Wards which represent majority of population in the County.
They claimed that the Ward Bursary Distribution Committee which was responsible for the allocation of the funds was obscure and withheld some money that was allocated for disbursement alleging the fund was set aside for expenditure to oversee the payouts.
“The committee must fairly give out the money according to the guiding law that explains the money was meant for the neediest beneficiaries from the 10 Wards and ensure students get their studies uninterrupted,” said Waithaka.
He expressed his dissatisfaction with the manner in which the bursary funds were being handled saying MCAs have been sidelined in the process.
The MCAs said they had received many complaints from parents whose children were yet to report to school for lack of fees after they were left out of the beneficiaries’ list yet they had applied for the bursary support.
Lorot said there were many needy students who had not reported back either due to omission or late disbursement of bursaries in his area.
He added that the County Assembly had already approved bursary funds in this financial year budget and the distribution board should have no excuse.
“We approved a budget of Sh75 million for bursaries which was meant to be shared equitably and no one was to be left out,” Lorot said.
He noted that the first disbursement of Sh35 million was released in June where each of the 10 Wards was supposed to receive Sh3 million.
He however noted that the fund was not disbursed in full saying he received only Sh1.8 million for his ward.Lorot further said that the second disbursement of Sh40 million was to be done this week according to the finance chief officer.
He noted with regret that the amount has since been reduced to Sh12.5 million without clear explanation to the Assembly while the MCAs anticipated increasing the bursary funds from Sh3 million to Sh6 million per Ward.
The political leaders are therefore calling on the County Executive Committee Member (CECM) in charge of Finance Mr. Abdullahi Banticha and Isiolo Governor Ibrahim Guyo to swiftly come out and shed light on the sensitive bursary matter.
By Raphael Kerimi
