THE PEOPLE NEWSPAPER : IS IT REALLY FREE?

File: an image of the People newspaper.

THE PEOPLE NEWSPAPER: IS IT FREE?

My question is, is The People newspaper really free? Hold on because you will have the answer down there.

Newspapers in many countries around the world are not sold to citizens instead they are distributed free of charge in the streets in a first-come first-serve basis.

In the streets of London, one can find the national and regional newspapers every morning, afternoon and evening hours. Among the notable newspapers which are in circulation in United Kingdom include the Daily Mail, the Sun, the Financial Times, the Observer (which mainly deals with African news), the Guardian and many other newspapers and magazines whose distribution is majorly centred at the cities of Britain. All the above listed newspapers are distributed free of charge.

In African countries the case is absolutely different. Many newspapers are given several advertisements by businessmen, politicians, government, private sectors, institutions, individuals and many others and they also go ahead and sell the papers instead of giving out to target masses for free. To hire a page of a newspaper is a lot of money. It is very prohibitive and not anyone can advertise in it and this, therefore, enables newspapers to get a lot of money since those who resort to advertise in the newspapers are the wealth guys.

We currently have the people newspaper claiming to be distributing its publication free of charge, but some individuals are wondering why some people are being given while others are denied.

I operate from the University of Nairobi main campus and I am a print media journalism student. Since the day, about a month ago, I saw an advert in the K24 Television station; I was flattered by exhilaration of acute ecstasy because I knew, I would get updated every morning since my favourite newspaper would not be sold to me anymore. And despite that, the People newspaper is one of the professional newspapers in Kenya and not like other newspapers which are distributed free of charge in the streets of Nairobi. It is professional in that the paper is written by trained journalists.

Last Saturday, I was lucky to get one of these so-called free papers in the University main entrance after serious confrontation with the lady who was distributing them. She had placed them inside the University and stayed with one newspaper in her hand outside the University gate. Since I was from the University library at around 11a.m, I was eager to get a paper to peruse through the headlines and see the splash. Near the gate I saw a heap of newspapers placed on top of a stone and then I decided to pick one because I could identify them as the People because of their green colour.

That is when everything started to go wrong. I heard a harsh voice of a lady saying “hey! unatoa gazeti pila kuomba”. I thought she was joking, but she was really serious. I smiled at her and told her, there was no need for me to leave the paper inside the school gate and pass the gate to borrow it and I knew the papers were being given free of charge. She told me one must borrow it first and it is her tacit mandate to decide whether to give you or not.

We normally receive free afternoon paper called X-News which is distributed all over the city. This paper, though not fully professional, is given out in large numbers and its circulation is all over the city. For my case I thought the people paper is being distributed just like X-News.

I also found this lady, who gives out the paper at the University main gate, on Tuesday and I borrowed her the paper and she said she was left with none and I could see a heap of them on the very stone they were last Saturday.

Today, Thursday, I found a man clutching some papers in his armpit near another entrance of the University, so I decided to borrow one and he also said “kuna mahali nachukua  hizi”. So I am wondering, is the so-called free newspaper really free or it is being given to some target group of people? From my point of view, the paper is not free at all. It is given to the people who are likely to advertise in it or those who can buy the products being advertised in the paper.

Though Mediamax Group (a media company which own the people newspaper) decided to have its paper distributed free, it can never have as large circulation and readership as the daily Nation newspaper whose circulation currently stands at 300,000 and over one million readership per day.

PARLIAMENT OF KENYA: CONNECTING WITH THE PUBLIC

From (left) University of Nairobi Vice-Chancellor Prof George Magoha, Senate Deputy Speaker Kembi Gitura and Speaker of National Assembly Justin Muturi at the University of Nairobi during the start of parliamentary week.

PARLIAMENT OF KENYA: CONNECTING WITH THE PUBLIC

The proceedings in parliament have been on-going for years without much involvement from the public especially Kenyans who may not be having an opportunity to visit parliament to follow parliamentary proceedings. The speaker of the National Assembly together with his Senate counterpart has set out a parliamentary week which started on Monday 28^th July, 2014 at Taifa Hall, University of Nairobi and it will end on Friday 1^st August, 2014.

 The chief guests who attended the opening of parliamentary week include Justin Muturi (National Assembly Speaker), Kembi Gitura (Deputy Speaker of Senate), Prof George Magoha (Vice Chancellor, University of Nairobi), Prof Okoth Okombo (Political Scientist), Prof Edward Kisiangani (Political analyst) and Prof Maria Nzomo (Director Institute of International Studies, University of Nairobi).

Separation of powers among the three arms of government is the matter which took the centre stage of the discussion with Prof George Magoha  admitting that he could not understand which organ of government  is superior to the other.

During engagement with the public, the National Assembly speaker said the legislature is doing well with other arms of government namely the Judiciary and the Executive. He said there is no competition of superiority and each organ of government works in accordance with the supreme law of Kenya.

“There is no competition of powers in the three arms of government. They all work according to the powers, privileges and duties which are categorically spelled out in the constitution of Kenya,” Justin Muthuri said.

He said though parliament has an oversight role over all other organs of government, it has not utilized that prerogative to suppress them. He said the parliament is very concern with matters which are in interests of the people of Kenya since its members are democratically elected by the people. He further said under Article 94 of the constitution the parliament is charged with the mandate to represent and exercise the sovereignty of the people of Kenya.

There has been also complains from the public, especially those allied to the opposition, that Jubilee Government is using its tyranny of numbers in parliament to pass irrelevant Bills, but the National Assembly Speaker said  tyranny of numbers is not new to the 11^th parliament since it existed in the previous regime. He, however, confirmed that parliament is passing Bills which are “helpful” to the common mwananchi.

The Deputy Speaker of the Senate said the separation of powers should not be vested only across the three branches of government instead county governments at the grassroots level should also be given some powers.

“Separation of powers should not be in three organs of government. We currently have two levels of government and each should be given some powers too,” he said.

He further reiterated that the Senate has powers to summon the governors in matters relating to the use of public funds in the counties. He said this because some governors refused to appear before the senate committee some months ago. The governors had said that the Senate has no powers to summon them.

Gitura also said that Kenya has no absolute democracy and it is currently being elevated and he has beliefs that democracy will be better in Kenya one day.

“Democracy is not a finished product in Kenya, it is a process which takes place over time and it is growing better and better each day,” he emphasized.

The Deputy Speaker further confirmed that there is no Bill which can be tabled in the floor of the house before it goes to the public.

Both speakers confirmed that parliament (Senate and National Assembly) is independent to executive in its budgets and everything else in the current constitution, but Prof  Maria Nzomo reiterated that, checks and balances are inevitable in any democracy. She said the three arms of government should act as a watchdog of each other so that better democracy can be realised in the country.

In reacting to the two speakers, Prof Kisiangani pointed out that there is a crisis in interpreting the constitution among the three arms of government. He said the constitution envisaged the powers to three branches of government, but there should be check and balances among them. He further said Article Three of the constitution gives powers to citizens to check on how the government operates. He added that the two speakers should form an intra-governmental body which brings together executive and legislature.

Prof Okoth Okombo said those who do not know how to interpret the law should consult the committee of experts who wrote the current constitution. He said parliament can enact the law to reduce the powers of the Judiciary, but it is the work of the Judiciary to interpret that law which make the whole process complicate. He, therefore, urged the three arms of government to respect the constitution.

Prof George Magoha told the two speakers of the houses to encourage palpable discussions in their respective houses. He also urged the public to be agents of change. He said one should not wait to be a politician in order to change Kenya.

 The parliamentary week is based on Article 10(2) (a) which states  “participation of the people is one of our country's values and principles of governance” and Article 232(1) (d) which states “meanwhile instructs public servants to include citizens in the process of policy making”.

TO START AND REGISTER A BUSINESS ENTERPRISE IN KENYA IS NOW AN EASY TASK

File: business partners shaking hands. Entrepreneurs can now register their businesses online.

( NOTE: THIS POST WAS WRITTEN IN JULY 24TH, 2014)
By Maritim Kipngetich

Business is known around the world as the best means to grow the economy by double digits, but many nations including Kenya have several steps for people to follow when registering it and this has made many of them run away and opt for other easier ways which include sole proprietorship and even partnership businesses which are already registered.
It is an obligation of each and every nation to make sure that this tedious ways of legalizing business are reduced to pave way for emerging business people to register their businesses with ease.
The President of Kenya has recently made sure that the people who are interested in starting businesses are not deterred by long processes of registration. He has urged the people concern including Kenya Revenue Authority(KRA) officials to make sure that the long procedures of business registration which have been in existence for many years be reduced so that people can be in a position to register it as fast as possible.
The business registration process normally involve ten procedures with whoever wants to be an entrepreneur would draft a enterprise  name and send it to registrar of companies who would in turn take almost a month to make sure that the name does not coincide with other registered names. That process is absolutely simple now and the business people can obtain full registration within some hours.
Recently, a website was launched which allow people to register their businesses online. The online platform called incorporator has been established. This is the Genius Executive Limited aimed at saving the entrepreneurs the trouble of having to visit the companies’ registrar offices in person. This online platform, therefore, has been embraced by entrepreneurs with exhilaration of acute ecstasy since they will not be required to move from their homes to registrar offices.
The launched business registration online platform will enable the entrepreneurs to pay the charges via a VISA card or even an M-pesa.
Jonathan Mwege is the Deputy Governor of Nairobi County and he said one can get his/her business registered within the shortest time possible via an internet. Speaking in Citizen Business Centre interview at the Citizen Television, the Deputy Governor said they have experts who verify the information given by a person who want to start a business enterprise within Nairobi: whoever found lying will have his/her license revoked.
“We have launched an online platform in Nairobi County which can allow people to register their businesses within five minutes and we have the specialists who confirm whether you said the truth. If one lies, we shall have his/her permit cancelled.” He said.
He also said business registration should be devolved to counties since it is the people in the counties who are doing the businesses.
“There is no need having registration of businesses in Nairobi when the people in the counties are the one carrying out business,” he reiterated.
The Deputy Governor asked the people of Nairobi to take the advantage of the current adjustments to start and register their businesses.
The people who are interested in registering the businesses around the country should actually utilize this seized opportunity.
It is unfortunate that Kenya is number 121 worldwide according to World Bank Doing Business Report out of 185 countries. Rwanda is the only country in East Africa which adopted the business registration technology long ago and it emerged number 30 worldwide according to the report.

THE CORD'S PUSH FOR REFERENDUM IS UNDERWAY

From (left) Cord Co-principal Kalonzo Musyoka, Bungoma senator Moses Wetangula, Cord Co-principal Raila Odinga, Siaya senator James Orengo and Suna Mp Mohamed Junet during press briefings at Orange House, Nairobi.

( NOTE: THIS POST WAS WRITTEN IN 23TH JULY, 2014)

THE CORD'S PUSH FOR REFERENDUM IS UNDERWAY

The Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (Cord) has unveiled a committee of experts to spearhead referendum to amend the constitution.
The Cord leaders yesterday appointed Paul Mwangi to chair the committee whose other members include Kethi Kilonzo, Khelef Khalifa and Beatrice Kituyi. These committee members will be expected to draft referendum question or questions before the coalition appoint volunteers around the country to collect one million signatures required to ignite the process of amending the constitution via a referendum.
The Cord coalition wants the government address three key issues they highlighted as being a threat to the country. The tree “critical” issues include disbandment of Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), the security to be devolved to the county level and county allocation be increased from the current 15% to 40%.
Speaking yesterday 9p.m at the Big Question Show at Citizen Television, Boni Khalwale who is affiliated to Cord coalition said referendum is a nice thing and Kenyans should embrace it.
His counterpart in the senate, who was also present in the show, Kipchumba Murkomen said the referendum is a complicate process since to carry out a referendum one needs IEBC and to disband IEBC one needs a referendum. He said he would suggest that referendum since is prohibitive it should wait until 2017 elections so that it can be introduced as ballot number seven to reduce the cost. He further added that the Cord coalition leaders should leave out the three key issues they have highlighted if they need the Senate to support them.
“I appeal to the Cord coalition to drop the issue of IEBC, security and devolution and I am sure we shall hear their grievances in the senate,” he said.
Kakamega senator further confirmed that the Okoa Kenya secretariat has been established and it has received 15 issues from the Civil Societies and other issues from the Council of Governors.
“There is a secretariat called Okoa Kenya we have formed and it has currently received 15 issues which the Civil Societies want to be addressed by the national government and furthermore, the Council of Governors has also present some issues to the same secretariat,” he said.
He also said referendum is not for Cord. He reiterated that it is a national agenda.
Elkeyo Marakwet senator accused the Cord coalition for being mean in ideas and he said, it is utilizing those ideas to gain confidence from the people.
“Cord coalition does not share the ideas it has with the government and it is just using them to gain support from the masses,” he said.
The security is also an issue which ignited a heated debate in the show with Kipchumba Murkomen emphasizing that the security is not an issue which can divide the country instead it brings people of one particular country together.
“The security is not something which can separate us as a nation. In fact security in any nation in the world normally brings the persons concern together,” he said.
Dr. Khalwale confirmed that their agitation to have security be devolved does not mean the county governments will employ their police officers. He said the national government will continue hiring security personnel and the governors in the county level will only play affirmative action. He also said the National Security Intelligent Service (NSIS) experts will also operate at the county level with the governors being their supervisors.
“The quest for security be devolved does not give a mandate to governors to employ their security officers and NSIS personnel. The national government shall continue to do that and the governors will just be the coordinators,” he said.
“The government is wasting taxpayer’s money carrying out Nyumba Kumi initiative instead of using institutions available to address the issue of insecurity,” Khalwale said.
He further said the old structures of dealing with insecurity are not working and the government should devolve it.
Elkeyo Marakwet senator feared that tribalism will be a stumbling block to the security if it is devolved. He added that security is about trust.
“Tribalism will be a threat to security if the governors are allowed to be in charge. If there are two warring communities within the county and the governor deploys security to one particular community then the other community will lack the trust in the governor,” he reiterated.
Senator Kipchumba said referendum should have support from the members of parliament. He added that the august house may not support it since majority of its members are from Jubilee coalition who is anti-referendum, but Kakamega senator said parliament played an important role in coming up with the current constitution and it should respect the “voice of the masses”.

TERROR ATTACKS: NO LONGER NEWS

File: people carrying the victims of terror attack. Insecurity in Kenya has become an order of the day.

 ( NOTE: THIS POST WAS WRITTEN IN 21ST JULY, 2014)

TERROR ATTACKS: NO LONGER NEWS

Attacks in Kenya are no longer news since we expect them in the news headline every morning.The first terror attack in Kenya started in 1998 when Al Qaeda terror group attacked United States Embassy which was then situated along Haile Selassie Avenue in Nairobi where over 200 people died and hundred others seriously injured. Since then, there have been several terror attacks in the country.
The government of Kenya has been pointing fingers to Somalia-based Al Shabaab terror group who in several instances has been claiming to be perpetuating these aftermaths.
Though terrorists have been targeting Kenya over the last one and a half decades, it is important to note that there were no much terror attacks which happened one after the other during Kibaki's regime.This has raised serious questions to the government of the day which is still in its infancy stage. It is hardly two years since Jubilee Government came to power and within this period, more than a dozen terror attacks have been undertaken around the country mostly in Nairobi, Mombasa and Lamu counties.
The infamous Westgate and Mpeketoni attacks which left over 150 innocent people dead, have made people lack confidence in the forks heading security docket in the country with some suggesting Interior Cabinet Secretary, Joseph Ole Lenku, be sacked to pave way for another "competent" person to be in charge of that docket.
The recent several attacks in Lamu county have left thousands of people leave their homes with some going to spend their nights in prison.
The government interdicted high rank security personnel in Lamu county after Mpeketoni aftermath, but they were later own reported to have been allowed to work in other counties. To make the matter dramatizing, they were interdicted and there was no case opened against them. Lamu Governor is also currently facing charges related to the killings in Mpeketoni and the killings have not stopped since the day he was arrested and later on released on a cash bail pending investigation. In fact the investigators, the police, have admitted that the case is too complicate since they can't find any tangible evidence which can allow to propel the investigation. They recently asked the High Court to give them 60 days which the High Court denied.
The government deployed thousands of police officers to guard Saba Saba rally which Cord leaders held in Uhuru Park on July 7th and my question is why is it not deploying enough number of police officers to guard the Lamu residents?
The government has been shifting the blame to opposition party leaders who have been playing politics around insecurity matters in the country even after al-Shabaab insurgents claimed the responsibility. It may not been really good for the opposition to play politics around the state of insecurity, but the matter is irrevocable especially in a scenario where many people are being killed every day. If opposition leaders decide to leave the insecurity matter in their public rallies, then they have nothing else plausible to tell Kenyans.
From my point of view I think the terrorists have resort to move to Mombasa county after Inspector General issued a duck-to-dawn curfew  in Lamu county on Friday. The government should be vigilant in security matters since terrorists can attack anywhere else in Kenya.

REALIGNMENT EXERCISE TO TAKE PLACE IN SEPTEMBER THIS YEAR

File: Devolution and Planning Cabinet Secretary Anne Waiguru during press conference in Nairobi.

REALIGNMENT EXERCISE IN PUBLIC SERVICE TO TAKE PLACE IN SEPTEMBER THIS YEAR

The rationalization exercise in the public service which the government wants to carry out in the 47 counties will start as by September this year, the Cabinet Secretary in charge of Devolution and Planning, Ann Waiguru, has said.
Speaking at the Big Question show yesterday 9 p.m in the Citizen Television, the Cabinet Secretary said the exercise will ensure that there is efficiency in the work force in all 47 counties across the country.
" The process is meant to ensure that the people are working in the capacities that is required," the CS said.
The people were worried that the exercise may send some county workers home, but the secretary confirmed that there will be nobody who will be send home. She said whoever will be found not suitable to work in a certain capacity, he/she will be transferred to work elsewhere or he/she may be trained.
" If someone is found incompetent, one may be moved to work in where one is best in or we can also train," CS reiterated.
The Cabinet Secretary said they have not reached retrenchment exercise due to an agreement between the Council of Governors and the National Government last year. She said, however, realignment is inevitable at this point in time since the government has realized that there are incompetent workers in the counties. She confirmed that there is a commission which has been established to do retrenchment exercise and it has the representatives from the Council of Governors, the National Government, the Attorney-General himself, Salaries and Remuneration Commission among other stakeholders. She said the commission is independent and it is charged with the mandate to see how workers are doing there work in all 47 counties.
Over the past few months the government has been trying to deal with the issue of the ghost workers. The CS, therefore, said the body has been formed to deal with the issue and it is currently going on with investigation.
" The independent audit firm has been formed to investigate the issue of ghost workers and it is currently in force," she emphasized.
The CS added that the report from the issue of ghost workers will be combined with the one from rationalization exercise.
Wage bill is also a matter which took the centre stage of the discussion. The President, his Deputy and Cabinet Secretaries have accepted to have their salaries cut in the move against the looming wage bill which currently stands at 5.4 billion every year. The Cabinet Secretary, however, said the wage bill can not be reduced by cutting the salaries of the workers in the country, but it can be reduced by growing the economy, rationalization and the government should stop recruiting more workers which are more than the work available to be done.
Rationalization exercise is very important  in our country and this will make sure that the workers working in different fields are competent. The retrenchment and the issue of ghost workers will reduce the burden of taxpayers in that the people who are working will be paid and not the dead people whose names are still appearing in the payroll.

THE STATE OF INSECURITY

 ( NOTE: THIS POST WAS WRITTEN IN JULY 14TH, 2014)

INSECURITY: NEED A PROPER SOLUTION

File: people running for their dear lives. Insecurity in Kenya has risen in the past few years.

The insecurity situation in the coastal part of Kenya is exacerbating and the government is not doing anything plausible to contain it. It is sad to hear that terrorists have killed people, loot people's properties and vanished into the thick forest of Boni every day and the security personnel are not doing anything to gag them.
It is high time the government should stop shifting the blame to al-Shabaab terror group and the opposition for the current state of insecurity in the country. There is a serious security loophole  and the government should do something better to contain it.
It all started with a terrorist attack in Westgate Mall last year and the President himself said he would form a commission of inquiry to investigate what happened in Westgate, but the matter just rested that way after that aftermath. After every terror attack the government is always in the front line promising to deal with the situation, but all over sudden it forget the whole thing.
The attacks in Eastleigh, Likoni, Mpeketoni, Kigomba, Pangani, Lamu among many other places have happened concurrently but the government had not have a knack to even detect one before it happened. It is sad to note that some of these attacks happen just some metres away from police stations where our heavily armed policemen and women are.
The security docket in the country always take the lion share in annual budgetary allocation, but the so-called men in uniform and the forks in charge of this security docket, who are incompetent, just consume taxpayers money and they can't do anything to safe the lives of Kenyans.
From my point of view, I think reshuffle is the best way to go. If the government can look for better people to be in charge of security in the country, then it can be able to safe the lives of innocent Kenyans who are being slaughtered everyday by unknown assailants.
The al-Shabaab terror group has been a major stumbling block to security of Kenyans. Though the government is saying removing the KDF soldiers in Somalia is a cowardly act, I think removing them there may assist us to deal with the current insecurity situation in the country.
When the late Hon George Saitoti was the minister of internal security, he would be able to detect terror attacks before they were executed. My questions are, what is happening to Ole Lenku? Does he lack the security intelligent who can advise him?

POTENTIAL WAY WE CAN USE TO GROW THE ECONOMY

File: photos of actors and actresses: Film industry has not been exploited in Kenya.

 POTENTIAL WAY TO GROW THE ECONOMY

There is no other magic of growing the economy  in a country other than to utilize the natural resources available and to use the natural talents we have to employ ourselves and assist our government by paying more taxes.
The are several untapped source of employment in Kenya, but I can single out only one area we seem reluctant to invest in. The government has never thought of building one institution to train the guys who are best in this area.
I am talking about film making industries. Several countries around the world have invested much in opening up institutions which train actors and actresses  and several people have invested in this very lucrative business_ film industry.
Most people know much about Hollywood Movies (based in Los Angeles, California in the United States), the Bollywood Movies ( based in India), the Nollywood Movies (based in Nigeria) and many others, but many people do not know that our neigbouring country, Tanzania, also has a movie industry known as Swahiliwood Bongo Cinema. This film making industry in Tanzania has generated much revenue to Tanzanian government accounting up to 7% of the all revenue generated annually.
Nigeria has recently  overtaken South Africa as Africa's largest economy with the Nollywood film industry accounting up to 1.3% of the total output. The Nigerians film makers can sell their products around the world majorly in European countries who like to watch and learn more on African culture which is highly portrayed in Nollywood movies. Their movies are not only bought in large number in Europe but they are also liked and sell in large number in Africa.
The are many movie celebrities from Africa especially Kenya we love to watch and hear, but we have never thought of owning even one film industry which sells films to the local people in Kenya.
Starting a movie industry is tantamount to starting a television station. We currently have about eight television stations in Kenya. If the owners of these stations decide to have a film making industry, then they can make a lot of money since films sell around the world unlike even a local television stations  which mainly generate money from advertisements.
The government together with few tycoons we have in Kenya should thing of investing in this industry for us to resuscitate the already exacerbating economy.

THE DIRETIVE TO PRINCIPALS TO RELEASE CERTIFICATES HAS CAUSED A HEATED DEBATE

File: Kenya National Union of Teachers Secretary General Wilson Sossion addressing press conference in his office.

(THIS POST WAS WRITTEN ON WEDNESDAY,23TH JULY 2014)

DIRECTIVE TO PRINCIPALS TO RELEASE THE CERTIFICATES HAS GENERATED A HEATED DEBATE

It is barely two weeks since the government gave the directive to secondary school principals to release form four certificates to students withheld over fee balances and the directive has rekindled a heated exchanges between the government and the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut).
The Knut is demanding a dialogue before the move is implemented. It has urged the government to stop the directive and resort to negotiation with them first so that the school administration can avoid difficulties in catering for students who are in schools.
The union said that there are over 14 billion shillings fees arrears in all secondary schools in the country.
The Kenya National Examination Council (Knec) Act of 2012 is categorical in the issue of certificates and diplomas to students who sat for exams. According to the Act, it is clear that no person or institution is allowed to withhold those testimonials.
Speaking yesterday 9p.m in the Opinion Court discussion at Citizen Television, the Secretary General of Knut, Wilson Sossion, said they were not consulted before the directive was given out.
“Were were not involved in the directive and that is why we are calling upon the government to have dialogue with us,” Sossion said.
He, however, confirmed that they are not opposed to the move.
The Knut Secretary said the students have not gone for the certificates in their respective schools and the principals have certificates dating back to 1980s in their offices.
Director of Elimu Yetu Coalition, Janet Muthoni, was also present in the discussion and she accused the ministry of Education, Science and Technology for not implementing the Knec Act of 2012 until the Deputy President intervened. She also criticized the situation where the principals withhold the certificate of a child who owe the school as much as 300000 shillings.
Prof Edward Kisiangani, political analyst, was also present in the discussion and he said the schools belong to the government and it is responsible in funding them. He further said the government wants to tackle the corruption issues which exist in schools since the principals are adding other expenditures in the school fees structures.
“There are Levis which are not accounted for and fair audit should be carried out so that such corruptions are eliminated,” he said.
He also said the government needs a proposal it can use in order to gap such misuse of funds in the public schools. He said the principals are using a lot of money in attending meetings in prohibitive places and that is why the government is hard on them to release the certificates.
The Knut Secretary General denied those allegations saying the principals normally have their salaries deducted every month to be used in such meetings, but Kisiangani said he had seen a letter given to a principal of a certain school inviting him to attend the meeting at an the school expense. He said the letter told the principal to ask the school POG to pay for him to attend the meeting. He further said the principals should release the certificates then talk with government.
Wilson Sossion said there is no free primary school in Kenya and what exists is cost sharing.
Janet Muthoni accused the government for reluctantly discussing the school fees issues and the schools are in financial crisis. She said the principals need to be supported and all the stakeholders concern should not politicize the issue. She, however, said she admired the government for giving such a directive since the students from less-endowed families will have an opportunity to further their education after receiving their certificates.
Sossion said some schools have broken to August holiday immaturely and some leaving their mock exams incomplete due to lack of funds to buy laboratory chemicals for science subjects. He said the government has not wired the money for second term and that has affected learning in schools. He confirmed that they have written a letter to the ministry and if it will not respond then they will take the next step.
“We have communicated with the government through a letter and we expect the feedback from them. If there will be no respond then we shall take the next step,” he said.
The Secretary General said the government taught the parents a bad lesson since they will be reluctant to pay the schools especially at the last term of the forth class in secondary school. He said the directive will demoralize the work of the principals.