Religious leaders from the Lower eastern region have commended counties that have invested heavily in Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) terming the move a big boost for basic foundation.
The clergy speaking to the press at a Machakos hotel after holding a citizen led engagement forum, lauded governors in the region for improving ECDE infrastructure in their respective counties.
Led by Lower Eastern Coordinator, Major Leonard Kasyoka from the Salvation Army Church, the clergy urged counties to introduce school feeding programs in ECDE centers to increase school retention of pupils.
“We take note of the good initiative to advance ECDE learning across the counties,” said Major Kasyoka.
Major Kasyoka particularly hailed Machakos County Government for introducing the milk programme in ECDE dubbed ‘Maziwa ya Mama’ which he said besides increasing the number of learners will also boost their nutrition.
He asked other counties in the region to replicate the initiative in their respective counties.
The church leaders also commended Makueni and Kitui counties for employing ECDE teachers on permanent and pensionable terms saying the move will improve the quality of education in the region.
“We applaud Kitui and Makueni counties for upgrading their ECDE teachers’ salaries and employing them on permanent terms,” said Major Kasyoka.
He added that the church acknowledged the efforts county leaders have made towards fulfilling the promises made to the people and said they were looking forward to progressive development in the coming years across the counties.
Through proper budget implementation, the clergy recommended that the county treasuries should ensure timely preparation and submission of financial reports to the office of the controller budget.
They further recommended enhancement of value chains through recruitment of experts to drive economic development besides supporting local communities to establish sustainable enterprises.
The church leaders also urged the counties to address pending bills to ensure genuine bills are paid promptly by the end of the financial year and called for timely disbursement of county funds by the national government.
The religious leaders from the lower eastern region were drawn from African Brotherhood church (ABC), Salvation army, Pentecostal Evangelistic Fellowship of Africa (PEFA), Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK) Full gospel and the Kenya Assemblies of God (KAG).
By Anne Kangero
