President William Ruto has made a new leadership appointment to the Board of Directors of the School Equipment Production Unit.
In a gazette notice dated November 8, the President announced the appointment of Elisha Busienei as the new chairman of the board of directors of the unit to serve for a period of three years starting November 8.
“I, William Samoei Ruto, President of the Republic of Kenya and Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces, appoint— Elisha Busienei to be the Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the School Equipment Production Unit, for a period of three (3) years, with effect from the 8th November,” part of the notice read.
The School Equipment Production Unit (SEPU) is a government agency under the Ministry of Education with a sole mandate of designing, manufacturing, supplying, and distributing science materials and apparatus to educational institutions in Kenya.
SEPU is best known for the manufacture of mobile laboratories, integrated science Kits, laboratory chemicals, glassware, and general apparatus and provides high-quality and standard STEM materials to educational institutions.
The new appointment comes at a time when the government is scrambling to put resources together for a seamless transition to Grade 9, including books and other equipment.
On October 23, the Ministry of Education, through Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba, announced that the government would be procuring a total of 1,000,000 copies of learners’ books and 24,000 copies of teachers’ guides for each learning area in Grade 9.
“I have directed that schools that may have variances in the number of books delivered to them should report to the Sub County Education office. I also reiterate the expectation that both public and private schools should use only the books that have been approved by KICD,” Ogamba said.
Elisha Busienei is a former Member of Parliament of the Turbo constituency who won the seat in 2013 when he ran under the United Republican Party (URP).
In 2017, he ran again to defend his seat but was unsuccessful in this bid. Undeterred, he joined President William Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA) to vie for the same seat but was defeated once again.
This new appointment comes alongside several other government appointments by state officials like CSs Mbadi, Joho, Wahome, and Barasa.
In his appointment, Mbadi appointed yet another President William Ruto’s ally Millicent Omanga, to the board of directors of the Local Authorities Provident Fund (LAP Fund) for three hours.
