Lamu Senator Joseph Githuku Kamau has offered Sh500 to every woman who becomes pregnant in a bid to shore up his community’s numbers to a level they can be used for political bargaining.
Statistics from the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) show that Lamu has only 79,157 registered voters which is the lowest among all the 47 counties.
According to Githuku this low population is a huge disadvantage thus there is a need for both men and women of childbearing age in the county to rise to the occasion.
“I have faced challenges in parliament every time I complain about the low revenue allocation for Lamu. Unfortunately, I become helpless when the argument is based on the population,” said the lawmaker.
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“I have now opened the gates for you people, the youth who are here. Please work hard. Once the child is born and attains the school-going age, they will directly be Senator Githuku’s burden in PP1 and PP2,” said Githuku.
Pregnant women are just required to visit CDF offices for their Sh500. It is however unclear what methods the constituency will use to know if someone is indeed pregnant before the third month when a baby bump is not visible.
The Mp has also said that he has started talks with the national government to increase funds allocated to schools in the area so as to enable them to undertake free feeding programs.
“We have primary schools like Mkokoni, Milimani, Mararani, Mangai, Kiunga, Kiangwe, Basuba, and Bar’goni in Boni forest whose funds have already been disbursed in their accounts to undertake feeding program as a pilot project,” said Githuku.
