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{
    "id": 1029541,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1029541/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 269,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. (Dr.) Musuruve",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13188,
        "legal_name": "Getrude Musuruve Inimah",
        "slug": "getrude-musuruve-inimah"
    },
    "content": "where I visited schools. It was painful to watch children go to school without masks while others had improvised masks; using handkerchiefs to cover their mouths not their noses. There is ignorance in the counties concerning preventive measures. There is need for county governments to ensure that in the county budget, they have an emergency fund. The fund should be for the purpose of preparing children going to school, buying masks and ensuring there is running water. It is unfortunate that water is a devolved function while many schools do not have water. I was talking to the Chairperson, Committee on Education expressing my disappointment and anguish. There are so many schools in my county without running water. We cannot talk about COVID-19 and fail to talk about water. Children are interactive and you cannot stop them. If they do so without wearing masks, not washing their hands using soap, they will get COVID-19. They will infect their teachers, who will then infect their families and significant others. This is an issue that should be handled candidly. There is need to have an ad hoc Committee that investigates what is going on in the counties with regard to education, so that we save our children and education goes on. If we decide to play the ostrich, then so many wrongs are going to happen. Many teachers and children will die. As a country, if we do not give the baton to our children, then we are not doing well. If we do not take the issue of COVID-19 and education seriously, we will not have children or leaders to pass the baton to. There is need for us to see how we can interrogate this issue of COVID-19. The Chairperson of the Committee on Education is here. He should pursue this matter. If a proposition can be put on the Floor of the House that we have an ad hoc Committee to investigate the issue of COVID-19 and its impact on education, it will be good for us. It has been clear from the Senators who have spoken on the Floor of the House, that since children are not going to school, many girls are being impregnated and put in early parenthood. Others are finding themselves in a situation where they are getting married not because they want, but because they find themselves in hopeless situations. Madam Temporary Speaker, schools cannot wait. We have to look for a mechanism of ensuring that we are availing education to our children. We should ensure that the county governments are held accountable, so that they provide water because they have a budget. Every year, we release money to the counties because we want service delivery to wananchi. As the Senate, it is our mandate to ensure that the money that goes to the county is benefitting mwananchi. If there is no running water in the counties then we are not doing well as a country. In the schools that I visited, I found there was no running water. I tried to engage the county government who were slow to act. They did not seem to see the priority that I was seeing as a Senator. We must ensure that governors give an account of the COVID- 19 measures they have taken in the county governments. In some schools, you will be surprised that there is no furniture or toilets, yet Early Childhood Development Centres (ECDC) are a function of the county governments. There is need for governors to utilize money appropriated in this House and disbursed to the counties in a prudent way, so that Kenyans can feel that they matter and The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}