Published on March 14, 2025 by Kariuki Mwangi
Last Updated on 1 year by Kariuki Mwangi
By Kenn Okaka
The Kakamega Senator Dr. Bonny Khalwale took to the floor of the house to castigate Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja for implementing the school feeding program, Dishi na county initiative.
The senator sensationally claimed that Sakaja is wrong in rolling out Dishi na County claiming that feeding the school going pupils in Nairobi was not a priority a day after Sakaja and President William Ruto announced the addition of Chapati to the Dishi na County menu
The transformative Dishi Na County is a program that ensures 310,000 pupils receive a nutritious hot lunch time meal everyday across all public primary schools in Nairobi at a cost of just 5 shillings per day.
According to Khalwale, the role of the governor is not to feed people but to initiate infrastructural projects like under passes and over passes. However, what Senator Khalwale failed to factor is the importance of elevating the education sector in the country which Dishi na County has managed to do within the two years of it’s existence.
The program, which feeds pupils everyday, has in a short span of time contributed to a steady increase in the school attendance ni the capital city.
According to education experts, the increase in school attendance will be key in uplifting academic performance which is a precursor to the children’s bright future.
It is through a good education that children will secure jobs in the future and by feeding the children at school means that they stay in school and have a real chance to open up to a bright future.
Experts opine that the work of the governor is not merely infrastructural development but as well as socia-ecomomic development which Dishi na County seeks to achieve. The children benefiting from the program are largely drawn from Nairobi’s informal areas where poverty bites and the feeding program is set to encourage more school enrollment in public schools.
Having been a member of Parliament for Ikolomani constituency and Kakamega Senator, Khalwale hails from an area where there are also needy people in society and his track record has no poverty alleviation along it.
By Governor Sakaja prioritizing the welfare of children in Nairobi, the wellbeing of children,who are the proverbial ‘future of the society’ has been taken into consideration and Dishi na County is a project that has received accolades beyond the borders of Kenya.
The author, Kenn Okaka is a Media and Communication Strategist.
