Sh1.35 billion paid to Jua Kali artisans in school desks project

The government has paid out Sh1.35 billion to thousands of Jua Kali artisans across the country who were contracted to fabricate school desks through the Economic Stimulus Programme following the effects of Covid-19.

Education Cabinet Secretary Prof George Magoha said a total of 625,000 desks have been delivered to the learning institutions.

“The delivery of Sh1.9 billion desks programme has performed extremely well. Currently, we have received 95 per cent delivery and project to complete the remaining percentage by Monday,” said Prof Magoha.

Speaking at Raphael Wanjala Mundere Girls’ Secondary School in Budalangi sub-county yesterday when inspecting the last batch of the artisan fabricated desks in Busia County, Prof Magoha revealed that Nairobi, Nyanza and Central had covered 100 per cent delivery.

 “Western is remaining with 0.5 per cent but I believe that this will be covered in Bungoma county,” he said.

The CS extended his tour of the region to Bungoma County in the afternoon.

He noted that the desk programme had rolled out smoothly in many counties with a few challenges reported in the arid areas.

He said Turkana County had been excused in its delay to deliver the desks because it was treated under the special interest groups where the desks are fabricated from elsewhere and transferred to the county.

“I appreciate the collaboration between my ministry and the Ministry of Interior for the efforts they have put together to ensure the success of this programme,” he said, noting that chiefs and their assistants played a crucial role in the realisation and implementation of the programme.

The government allocated Sh1.9 billion to fabricate the desks and lockers for public primary and secondary schools and contracted local Jua Kali artisans so as to inject capital in the local economy and stimulate the cash flow at the grassroots as part of Covid-19 economic support.

Prof Magoha said the government opted to pay the artisans for work completed directly through M-Pesa to eliminate the bureaucracy associated with approval procedures and avoid cases of theft of public funds.

He said: “We will conduct a post mortem audit to ensure that the desks delivered are not designed for any other cause and that all fabricators received their money promptly.”

The CS asked the regional commissioner and the regional education officer to ensure that all children who are not in school are traced.