On Tuesday, Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja was brought to tears in front of President William Ruto as he struggled to describe the appalling condition of the county’s public schools.
The governor alleged that previous governments in Nairobi had neglected public schools as he spoke at Roysambu Primary School during the groundbreaking ceremony for the school feeding facility.
Even prior Nairobi administrations, he claimed, had spent Sh3 billion on scholarships, including the now-defunct Nairobi Metropolitan Services, which had received funding from the previous federal government.
“In 10 years, Nairobi County gave out bursaries worth Sh3 billion and in six months, Your Excellency, we have given out bursaries worth one billion and 25 million shillings for withdrawal,” Mr Sakaja said.
Adding:
“Unapata shule Sunday ni kanisa, Monday ni shule, jioni kuna kesha the next day there’s a youth meeting because we haven’t given the infrastructure…successive governments have done bad things to Nairobi children, we have to do something.”
The governor took a moment to catch his breath at this time as several of his aides offered him a handkerchief and a shoulder as he struggled to contain his tears.
The governor emphasized that his program had to succeed in light of the circumstances the kids were in.
“It has to work. These children deserve what your children have and what my children have,” he charged.
Sakaja commended President William Ruto for supporting his school feeding programme.
It will cost Sh5 per child for school children in public schools and ECDEs within Nairobi to get free meals in the next financial year 2023-24.
The Sh1.2 billion annual plan is part of Sakaja’s School Feeding Programme— Dishi na County.
