- The Kisumu County Assembly has passed the Education and Social Protection Fund Bill, 2026 at Third Reading.
- The proposed law seeks to strengthen scholarships and bursaries while expanding the county’s social protection framework.
- It now moves to the county executive for consideration and assent before becoming law.
The Kisumu County Education and Social Protection Fund Bill, 2026 has successfully gone through the Third Reading stage at the County Assembly of Kisumu.
The Bill seeks to repeal the Kisumu County Education Funds Act, 2014 and subsequent amendments to establish the Kisumu County Education and Social Protection Fund and for connected purposes.
During the Committee of the Whole House sitting at the County Assembly of Kisumu, presided over by Speaker Elisha Oraro on Tuesday, Members of the County Assembly passed the Bill at Third Reading without further amendments, paving the way for its transmission to the county executive for consideration and assent.
Oraro said the Hansard team should now start making arrangements for the Bill to be taken to the executive for consideration and signing.
Bill reduced to 45 sections
Some sections of the Bill were subjected to amendments during the Second Reading at a session chaired by Deputy Speaker Nereah Okombo.
Members of the County Assembly agreed with most of the amendments proposed by Education Committee Chair Seth Okumu and seconded by Kobura Ward MCA Billy Ochieng.
The Bill now has 45 sections following amendments that reduced it from the initial 48 sections during the Second Reading.
Speaking after the session, Okumu said the Bill seeks to strengthen scholarships and bursaries awarded by the County Government of Kisumu.
Okumu said part of the Bill has a section that allows the County Government of Kisumu to enter into partnership agreements for the purpose of achieving its objectives once it becomes an Act.
He said once it becomes an Act, it will encompass the payment of scholarships and bursaries for both devolved and non-devolved functions.
New law to strengthen bursaries and scholarships
Okumu said the current Fund’s ten-year operational period expired in 2024, having been established in 2014, prompting the development of the Kisumu County Education and Social Protection Fund Bill, 2026. He added that the process began in 2025.
The Education Committee Chair at the County Assembly of Kisumu expressed optimism that the Bill will become an Act and be operational within the next few weeks.
He said two per cent of the total County Government of Kisumu budget will be allocated to scholarships and bursaries once the Act is in place.
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He said currently 10 students per ward are awarded scholarships under the existing framework, adding that an estimated 800 students per ward benefit from bursaries awarded annually.
By Fredrick Odiero
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