By Andanje Wakhungu
The Salvation Army Church has called for an expeditious investigation into the allocation of Sh3.7 billion to ghost schools in the country.
The church asked the Ministry of Education and that of Interior and Coordination of National Government to establish how the funds were allocated to fake schools. The church’s Territorial Commander Kenya West Stephen Chepkurui criticized the education ministry for failing to establish the exact number of schools in the country
He was speaking during the handing over of several completed projects at Salvation Army Makhwabuye Primary School in Malava Sub County.
He wondered that could have happened when the ministry has staff in all locations across the county who can execute the inspection the mandate and remit the information to the national government.
“How can a country be able to allocate a whooping Sh3.7Billion to briefcase schools when in real sense a school like this one is in dire need of infrastructure?,” he posed.
Mr and Mrs Chepkurui unveiling the plague at Makhwabuye Primary School. Photo Andanje Wakhungu
The cleric said it is high time people in the Ministry are held culpable because the country cannot allow such huge sums of funds to be misappropriated by a few individuals in the government.
“We are grappling with massive corruption and yet some Kenyans have the audacity to loot even more when the country is at its lowest economic status,” said Chepkurui.
He added that it is time Cabinet Secretary Prof George Magoha for Education walked the talk and crack the whip to apprehend the culprits.
“While many schools are wallowing in challenges on matters infrastructure, some few individuals in the ministry have devised a way of fleecing the government,” he said.
Chepkurui said investigations should start from the sub county level to establish who presented the fake schools and how funds were allocated yet they do not exist.
He handed over one new classroom plus one that has been renovated, six door pit latrines and a bore hole that cost Sh4million.
“We will be constructing another four new classes to enable the school’s enrolment grow,” said Chepkurui.
He said the church sponsors over 800 schools within the West Kenya territory and most of them were lacking enough infrastructure.
“We will do our best to chip in whenever need arises but it is high time the government reconsidered opening churches so that they can be able to meet and deliberate on development issues,” he added.
He asked President Uhuru Kenyatta to be involving the church in decision making instead of deciding on his own.
His wife Grace Chepkurui advised parents to embrace girl child education and stop pushing them into early marriages.
“Let the fathers support their wives in ensuring that the girl child gets the much needed education just as the boy child as they all have equal rights,” she said.
The Makhwabuye school head teacher Florence Juma thanked the church for the support because pupils were using tents after nearly all the classrooms were condemned as a result of cracks caused by quarrying in the neighborhood.
The support of the Salvation Army to build for us five new classrooms is welcome as it will bring back the glory to the school after many parents pulled out their pupils,” he said.
Township Chief Nechesa Luvale and Parents Teachers Association chairman Jackson Watete blamed a Chinese construction company firm for the blasting quarries and damaging classroom and adversely affected learning at the institution.
