Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru has commenced issuance of bursaries to needy students with the first batch in day schools Ngariama Ward receiving full funding.

Waiguru said all needy student in secondary schools, tertiary institutions and universities who had applied for bursaries within the ward will get Sh.10,000.

This means school fees for day students will have been fully covered thus easing the burden to parents.

The Governor said a total of Sh.7.65 million in bursaries will be issued to support 2,000 students.

Speaking at Kamwangi Coffee factory ground in Ngariama Ward, Kirinyaga East Sub-County during distribution of assorted empowerment items to vulnerable families, Waiguru said the county has a total budget of Sh.142 million for bursaries this year.

“The delay for issuance of the bursaries was last year occasioned by restriction by Controller of Budget (COB) against counties issuing bursaries but thankfully we now have the go ahead,” said.

Waiguru also distributed an additional 3,600 free Meko gas cookers in her ongoing push for the adoption of clean and efficient energy for cooking.

This bring to 10,000, the number of free meko gas cookers that have been given out to help families living in rural areas to transition from use of firewood to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

The gas cookers were issued to households that did not benefit from the first phase of the programme, in which 600 other households from the same ward had already been reached.

Waiguru said the intervention is aimed at improving livelihoods, protecting the environment and easing the burden on vulnerable households.

The empowerment package also included five tents and 400 chairs for 13 self-help groups, as well as teaching and learning materials for all seven ECDE centres in the ward, benefiting 384 children.

Governor Waiguru said the clean cooking initiative goes beyond household convenience and forms part of the county’s broader effort to promote environmental conservation, climate resilience and sustainable livelihoods for Kirinyaga residents.

She said the shift to clean energy would reduce reliance on firewood and charcoal, thereby helping conserve forests while protecting families from the harmful effects of indoor smoke pollution. She noted that women and children, who are often the most exposed to smoke in poorly ventilated kitchens, stand to benefit greatly from the intervention.

Waiguru added that the initiative would also free women from the daily struggle of searching for firewood, allowing them to redirect that time to income-generating and other meaningful activities.

She hailed the area Member of County Assembly, Daniel Kibinga, for prioritizing the Meko project in his ward, terming it a clear demonstration of his concern for the welfare of women in Ngariama.

Residents who spoke during the event praised the Governor for what they described as practical and transformative development interventions.

Stephen Kaunda, a resident, said Waiguru had delivered on the promises she made to the people during her election campaigns, noting that the gas cooker programme would bring much-needed relief to women who have long suffered the effects of smoke from firewood.

He said the initiative would improve the quality of life for many families and spare women the health burden associated with cooking in smoke-filled kitchens.

Kaunda also thanked the Governor for supporting dairy farmers in the area, citing the county’s provision of a milk cooler for New Ngariama Dairy as a major boost to local milk production and marketing. He said her development record had earned her the goodwill of many residents and that she deserved a higher leadership role after the end of her second and the last term next year.

Another resident, Loise Kinyua, said residents were now seeing the results of development initiatives undertaken by the county government firsthand. She cited the county’s earlier distribution of avocado seedlings, saying many of the trees had now started bearing fruit and were helping families earn additional income.

Loise said the gas cooker initiative was particularly welcome because it would save women from the burden of searching for firewood, a task she said had at times exposed them to conflict with police officers guarding the nearby forest. “We are wearing spectacles not because it is fashionable, but because our eyes were damaged by firewood smoke,” she said.

Beyond the household support, Waiguru outlined a series of development projects her administration has implemented in Ngariama Ward across key sectors.

In health, the county has completed and operationalized Kamwana Dispensary Phase I, constructed the Joshua Mbai Dispensary laboratory, and is currently building the Kamwana laboratory. She also pledged to upgrade Kiamutugu Health Centre from a Level 2 to a Level 3 facility.

In agriculture, the county has supported 40 farmers’ groups through the Wezesha programme and strengthened dairy farming through investments in local cooperatives. Rung’eto Dairy Cooperative has benefited from milk coolers, backup generators and yoghurt processing machines, while Ngariama Dairy Cooperative recently received a 10,000-litre modern milk cooler and a backup generator.

The Governor also promised to construct a storage facility for subsidized fertilizer at Kamwangi Coffee Factory so that farmers can access the commodity closer to their homes.

In water development, Waiguru said the county had completed a 100-cubic-metre tank under the Nyaru Water Project and further gave a personal donation of Sh. 200,000 to support pipe-laying so that the project can be completed for the benefit of 3,000 households.

She added that the county has also supported the Ngariama Njukiini, Kathunguri and Kathugu B water projects, collectively benefiting thousands of households.

To support education, the Governor said the ward had earlier received free uniforms for all ECDE learners, noting that production of more uniforms is underway to enable continuation of the programme for the current ECDE population.

In trade, the county has invested in Kiamutugu and Githure markets, while plans are underway in collaboration with the area MCA to identify land for the construction of Kamwana Market.

Waiguru also pledged to boost the Nyorosha Barabara Mashinani programme in the ward by dispatching county road construction equipment to fix some of the roads requested by residents.

Speaking at the same event, Kirinyaga Central Member of Parliament and gubernatorial aspirant in the county campaigned for Governor Waiguru to become President William Ruto’s running mate during next year’s general election.

The Leader of Majority in the County Assembly, Benson Ngahu, observed that Governor Waiguru’s development record speaks for itself in every corner of the county.

Ngariama Member of County Assembly Daniel Kibinga hailed the initiative as a well-kept promise and praised the many projects implemented in his ward. He pointed out that the issuance of bursaries to secondary school students would ensure that beneficiaries in day schools in his ward would not pay any school fees for a year as each would receive KSh10,000.