A row has erupted between Kakamega Governor Fernandes Barasa and Senator Boni Khalwale over plans to allocate Sh2 million for bursaries in each of the county's 60 wards.
While Mr Barasa is proposing the same amount of money for bursaries his predecessor Wycliffe Oparanya allocated to the wards, Dr Khalwale has argued that Sh2 million is insufficient.
The Kakamega senator has instead proposed that the bursary allocation should be increased to Sh20 million per ward, in a move that could see the devolved unit spend 1.2 billion annually on bursaries for bright and needy children from vulnerable families.
Dr Khalwale has faulted the decision to allocate the Sh2 million per ward and asked the ward representatives to reject the money, saying it was too little to support the needy and bright children.
Senator Khalwale said the Sh2 million allocated for bursaries in each ward would lock many needy children from school.
The proposal by Senator Khalwale will increase the allocation to 1.2 billion annually, piling more pressure on the devolved unit’s overstretched budget.
Kakamega County receives Sh11 billion equitable share revenue in each financial year. In the 2021/2022 county budget, an allocation of Sh602, 775,960 went to the Education, Science and Technology department for recurrent expenditure and development.
An allocation of Sh20 million per ward for bursaries would overshoot the set budget allocation and cripple other operations in the education department,
Responding to the issue, Governor Barasa said Senator Khalwale should stop misleading Kakamega residents that he was the one ensuring that the devolved unit was allocated its share of the revenue from the national government.
The county chief said the senator was misrepresenting the county’s correct position regarding the allocation of funds for various projects.
Governor Barasa said Dr Khalwale cannot take credit for the allocation of resources to the county. He said the Senate approves the equitable share to the county governments as proposed by the Commission on Revenue Allocation and not an individual senator.
“I noted last week that our senator went round the county telling people that he is the one who brings money to Kakamega County. That is a lie. It is not proper for Senator Khalwale to mislead people that he is the one who brings money to Kakamega County,” said Mr Barasa.
The governor spoke when he presided over the official opening of the review process of the 3rd Generation Draft County Integrated Development Plan (CIDP) for 2023-2027.
“I want Senator Khalwale to stop misleading people and focus on his work as a senator for Kakamega. Let him focus on his oversight duties as provided for by the Constitution,” said Mr Barasa.
“Bursary is an equaliser in our society and its key role is to help the needy students in the county. The money will be under the ward administrator and the area Member of County Assembly (MCA) who will ensure that all deserving children benefit from the kitty,” said Mr Barasa.
Dr Khalwale said: “Allocating Sh2 million in each of the 60 wards, means that each learner will benefit with Sh870 which is not enough to support the education of our children.
“I beseech the MCAs to stand with me, we must push the governor to allocate Sh20 million per ward to enable our children to access education.”
Dr Khalwale said he will petition the Senate to demand a special audit of how the Kakamega County Government was spending its finances should Mr Barasa implement the Sh2 million allocations per ward.
The Senator further asked the county government to stop funding the Football Kenya Federation side Kakamega Homeboyz, claiming it was benefiting two individuals at the expense of the residents of Kakamega.
Mr Khalwale said the county needs to come up with a new team to benefit from the funding. The county has entered into a three-year contract to support the Kakamega Homeboyz FC.
“I urge Governor Barasa to cancel that contract and start the process of forming a new football team owned by the people of Kakamega,” he added.
