The education of 1,500 bursary and scholarship beneficiaries in Bomet now hangs in the balance as Governor Hillary Barchok moves to terminate the programmes.
Barchok, while making the announcement, cited interference and a political witch-hunt from Senator Hillary Sigei.
“I cannot continue paying for the students benefiting from county bursaries and scholarships. As a result, I have invited all the beneficiaries to Bomet, where I will hand them to the senator,” he said.
He disclosed that he had invited the beneficiaries to the Bomet Green stadium today, where he will officially terminate the programme and hand them over to the senator’s Wakili Foundation.
Barchok, who spoke to the press, says he worked around the clock to sustain the programme despite the county’s limited resources. He added that legal issues should not be used to deny children access to education.
“The senator doesn’t know what I did to pay for these students’ education. In fact, as governors, we refer to these programmes as social support. Education is very important, and we should not use legal issues to deny our children their right to education,” added Barchok.
Senator Sigei, however, has slammed Barchok, accusing him of whipping emotions. He argues that county governments have been barred from issuing bursaries and scholarships due to legal and accountability reasons.
“Barchok is only whipping emotions by bringing these innocent children to the stadium for being unable to answer accountability questions. As we speak, millions of shillings meant for bursaries and scholarships have been stolen,” he observed.
He stated that ECDE centres have stalled despite being allocated millions of shillings, with the county government failing to remit ECDE teachers’ deductions to the relevant agencies.
“Several ECDE centres across the county have stalled despite having been allocated funds, and the governor is not discussing the issue. This is wrong because residents must get value for their money,” added Sigei.
Sigei also blamed Barchok for Corruption and mismanagement of the county, adding that millions of shillings have been stolen through the bursary and scholarship programmes.
By Kimutai Langat
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