Sh6b more to be spent on schools electrification

Rural Electrification Authority Chairman Dr Simon Gicharu joins pupils of Kiawairia Primary for a dance during the commissioning of primary and secondary schools’ electrification project in Kiambu County recently. [Photo: John Muchucha/STANDARD]

The Government will spend Sh6 billion more to connect the remaining primary schools to electricity. New data released by Rural Electrification Authority (REA), show only 233 schools are yet to be connected in the Sh29 billion programme started by the Government in 2013 targeting more than 22,000 public primary schools.

The remaining schools did not feature in the initial 2013 list that had 19,000 schools targeted. The agency has now set August 2016 as the new deadline for connecting all primary schools to pave the way for the launch of Jubilee administration’s belated laptop project. When complete, the Government would have spent a total of Sh35 billion against an initial budget of Sh29 billion.