Waititu Proposes Radical Changes on Bursaries and CDF

Former Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu on Tuesday, October 3, pushed for the adoption of a new national body to assume the role of allocating bursaries in Kenya.

Speaking before the National Dialogue Committee (NADC) at the Bomas, the former governor argued that the current bursaries allocation under the National Government Constituency Development Fund is skewed.

According to him, Members of Parliament tend to favor those who supported their election and hence leaving out needy students who did not vote for them.

“I recommend they be removed from CDF because the manner in which they are distributed is selective,” Waititu told the Committee.

“If one student gets Ksh1,000 because of how the father voted and another gets Ksh10,000 because of how the parent voted, that is unfair.

As such, he proposed creation of a state body to govern distribution of bursaries to students across the country.

In his submission, Waititu vouched for the adoption of a national body like the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) which governs distribution of funds to students in higher education institutions.

In that case, the former governor noted that MPs would be left to perform the role of oversight in the allocation of funds to learners. 

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“If we want to equalize the national govt must take over the distribution of bursaries such that a student in Suba gets the same amount as a student in Githunguri and a student in Wajir because they are facing the same exam,” he added.

Waititu wants impeachment procedure revised

Further, the governor urged the committee to consider his proposal on the procedure and consequences of impeachment. The politician argued that having faced impeachment as Kiambu governor he had important insights that would prevent victimization of governors.

As such, he proposed an amendment that would change the provision barring impeached leaders from holding elective or appointive public positions.

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He claimed he fell out with the previous government and was consequently impeached and sidelined from taking part in politics. 

“Since the governor will have fallen off with the regime or support of politician it should be only for that regime,” the former governor noted.

Waititu’s submissions came on the last day of submissions before the National Dialogue Committee.

Subsequently, the Committee will draft a report to reflect the views and recommendations presented by Kenyans and key state organs.