Sh1 million for every ward in new bursary kitty

By ERIC ABUGA

 

The Kisii County government has launched a Sh45 million bursary fund.

In the Kisii County Bursary Fund kitty, each of the 45 wards in the county has been allocated Sh1 million in the current financial year to be disbursed to needy students.

The figure will be increased in the next financial year to benefit more students.

The fund was set up after Governor James Ongwae assented into law the Kisii County Bursary Fund Act 2014, which was passed in the Kisii County Assembly a week ago.

The bursary fund is aimed at enabling needy and bright students access education at all levels and is meant to supplement available bursary funds at constituency and national level.

Speaking at the Kisii Culture Centre while inaugurating the ward bursary committees, Ongwae asked members to embrace fairness, gender and regional balance as well as timeliness in the award of the fund.

The governor reminded the committee that Chapter Six of the constitution advocates for honesty and integrity, saying they must be fair in distribution of the resources.

He said orphans and those from poor background must be given priority to avoid a repeat of cases where needy students are left out during allocation of bursaries.

He said members are mandated to research within their wards and maintain data on eligible students for the bursary.