The government has released Sh100 million to rehabilitate schools affected by banditry in Baringo North and South Sub-counties.
This was said by the Interior Cabinet Secretary Prof. Kithure Kindiki on Thursday at Kimalel in Baringo South during a pass out parade ceremony of 200 national police reservists.
The Cabinet secretary also said that his ministry will lobby for a further Sh100 million for the same purpose saying the initial amount may not be enough. He said the rehabilitation works will be carried out by the military.
“We are also going to recruit 100 new teachers from the two sub-counties to address the issue of teacher shortage in the area,” added the CS.
Kindiki further announced that the government will build peace building institutions in all communities affected by insecurity as a long term solution to ending the banditry menace.
“We are going to build boarding school facilities that will bring together children from the warring communities,” said Prof. Kindiki.
He said the President has already given them guidelines on the program and that they are currently looking for the suitable places to construct them.
Kindiki said such projects will remove the mentality of fighting in these communities as their children will be sensitized against banditry.
“We will also start peace building initiatives among the warring communities by bringing together these communities that have been fighting with an aim of ending this backward behavior,” said the CS.
The CS promised to visit the area in a week’s time to launch construction of four security roads in Baringo South and North sub-counties as well as establish new administrative units that will help in the fight against insecurity in the two administrative units.
Area Member of Parliament Charles Kamuren while thanking the CS for the initiatives promised to award bursaries from the Constituency Development Fund kitty to National Police Reservists’ children as a way of supplementing their allowances.
Kamuren added that he is partnering with his Baringo North counterpart Joseph Makilap to put up an NPR training camp at Ramacha in Baringo South for which they have already set aside Sh20 million.
He appealed to Kenyans particularly business people to visit Baringo as the new measures by the government will end the insecurity menace.
Baringo North Member of parliament, Joseph Makilap on his part requested the CS to push for recruitment of local teachers saying some schools suffered serious teacher shortage among them Chemoe Primary school which has two teachers only.
On his part Baringo Governor Benjamin Cheboi said the County government will donate land to be used as a training centre for security forces should the government heed their call to put up these centres in the county.
He said that the project will greatly improve the security in the county and fuel development that has been greatly hampered by insecurity.
However a resident from Bartabwa Ward, one of the areas affected by banditry, Richard Chepchomei said the government should come up with a structure on how rebuilding of schools will be undertaken.
“We are asking the minister to give more details on how many schools and also how much each of the schools will be allocated from the Sh100 million the government has allocated,” said the resident.
He however praised president Ruto’s government initiative of recruiting and training 200 National Police Reservists saying it was the right direction and the most concrete thing his regime has done so far in the fight against banditry.
By Christopher Kiprop
