Kisii governor, Simba Arati, on Wednesday, April 12, announced a radical shift in how his government would award bursary funds.
Speaking during a tour at Masimba in Masaba South, the governor faulted the residents for not voting.
Despite low voter turnout, he noted that people always turned up in high numbers to seek delivery services.
“We will use Independent Electoral Boundaries and Commission to identify those who voted in the last General Election.
“Only those who took part in the exercise will be allowed to apply for county bursaries,” he revealed why many Kisii residents were bound to miss out on the county funding.
The first-term governor explained that this was a good way to ensure that residents knew the importance of their life choices.
“We must be purposeful in all we do, from participating in voting exercises to seeking benefits from elected leaders.
“If you did not take part in putting those leaders in office then you should be ready to forego the bursaries,” he warned.
The county, which allocated Ksh126 million for the bursary kitty to be shared equally among all wards, indicated further parameters in disbursing the funds.
Every ward would receive Ksh3 million each, but Arati promised to increase the amount by stating, "Owing to the growing number of deserving cases, my administration will now enhance the Ward bursary allocation from the current projected Ksh3 million to Ksh5 million in the next financial year. "
Arati explained that the funds would only be available for secondary school students and that priority would be given to poor households.
Furthermore, the county government would only give one bursary application per household.
Governance experts, however, warned that If Arati proceeds with his plan to use the IEBC register, 37 per cent of the population would miss out on bursaries. According to IEBC data, 407,227 residents turned up to vote on August 9, 2022, against 637,111 registered voters.
