By Amoto Dennis
During Mashujaa day celebrations, President Uhuru Kenyatta unveiled a Sh8billion plan to expand infrastructure required for the one million new students’ set to join junior secondary schools.
Under this plan, the government will construct over 10,000 classrooms needed for additional learning space. The first lot of CBC are to join junior secondary in 2023 with the current learners being in grade five.
Local contractors near schools are supposed to do the job in order to improve the economic stimulus of residents and the local economy. Payments are also supposed to be injected directly in the account of the contactors the named sub-counties.
“The initiative will help tap into the skilled manpower within the counties, thus empowering locals with enhanced economic opportunities,’’ said the president who directed MPs as CDF patrons to direct resources to construct the 10,000 plus classrooms.
While aiming at boosting parents, the president also unveiled fertilizer subsidies of Sh1billion for tea farmers as the Kenyan tea prices had shot by 42 per cent. He also promised to pump Sh1.5 billion to maintain and service at sugar factories and pay farmers arrears.
The president further directed another Sh1 billion to the coffee industry where he hinted of cutting off corruption cartels.
In the improvement of parents’ economic statuses all over Kenya, the president injected Sh1.5 billion for the National Livestock Off Take programme to ease biting drought in Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL). These include Garissa, Isiolo, Kilifi, Kitui, Mandera, Wajir, Tana River, Samburu and Marsabit counties.
A spot check by Education News reveals that in some counties like Tana River, Mandera Wajir and Garissa not only have livestock dying due to biting drought but also human life is affected.
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