A section of Kenyans has raised concerns over the requirement to produce voter registration identification cards so as to access government bursaries.
This is after the Likoni Constituency Development Fund (CDF) made the rule as part of efforts to tame the massive requests that started on Monday, January 18, 2021.
The Constituency CDF office moved to make it mandatory for all bursary applicants to produce voter registration IDs or death certificates in the cases of orphans.
Residents argued that this had a result ruled out thousands of legitimately needy cases that lack the documents.
Likoni CDF office manager Mohammed Nyembwe on January 20, stood by the requirement, arguing that it was a legitimate way of applicants proving their residence.
Nyembewe stated that over 5,000 applicants had turned up on Monday, January 18, hence the measure to ensure only the needy are awarded the bursaries.
"We have made it a requirement that one should produce a voter's card or the parents' death certificate in case of needy orphans to help us verify and ascertain applicants are indeed residents who should benefit," Nyembwe stated.
He further stated that the committee only expects to dish out 7,000 bursaries in the 2021 academic calendar.
"We receive a lot of people even from elsewhere. If we do not apply that criteria, we will lock out our own people. To benefit from the bursary, you must prove that you are a needy resident," Nyembwe reiterated.
He revealed that the constituency only set aside Ksh30 million which was meant for only 7,000 beneficiaries.
This happens at a time when several other constituencies and county governments are issuing bursaries to ensure students resume school without a hitch.
Kirinyaga County Government on Tuesday, January 12, released Ksh110 million meant to pay school fees for 40,000 secondary and university students.
The county picked the beneficiaries through a vetting process overseen by the Ward Bursary Committees.
Governor Anne Waiguru revealed that the bursary would benefit 32,000 students from secondary schools and 8,000 students at the university level.
