The Ruto government has promised Kenyans who attend the Jamhuri Day rally at Nyayo Stadium that they will get a free Digital Technology certificate. The panic aside, this is an astonishing lack of imagination. I mean folks, get things straight for once.
You are going to look for people in the rally who qualify for the certification. How are you going to do it? Should people coming to the rally bring their education papers? Are there going to be interview rooms to determine who qualifies? Oh please.
Kenyans know how this works. Somebody in government is going to collect millions of public money claiming they are buying the scholarships. A few will be issued here and there with CSs and politicians lining up for pictures. The rest of the money will go to the bottomless pit of Kenyan money stolen by politicians. One day Kenyans are going to close that bottomless pit.
Why not bring food to those coming to the rally? You are saying Digital Technology is the theme of the rally on Monday but for all Kenyans, other than those rich guys who want to give scholarships, getting good food to eat is the theme of their lives, every day.
So bring good food with lineups stretching all around Nyayo Stadium and you will hit the jackpot.
People need food and they will come and nobody will show up at the parallel Azimio One Kenya rally at Kamukunji Gardens unless Raila and his team are distributing nyama choma fresh with kachumbari and ice cream on the side.
Better still if you want to stick to your digital theme then give all Kenyans who attend the rally free cell phones loaded with some Shs. 5,000 Hustler Fund for free with no payback. Even those laptops Kenyans kids have been waiting for, you can bring tons of them at the rally. All Kenyan youth will be at the rally to get free laptops. That is something they use in real life not some piece of paper called a scholarship which they may never use.
After Kenyans eat great food and are satisfied and they have taken their phones and laptops with them then the government can start a process of working with schools and community centers to identify people who qualify for digital technology certification and give them scholarships. It will make sense because people who actually need and can use those scholarships will get them instead of just throwing a few to crowds who may have no idea what to do with them.
But here is the grand plan for the Jamhuri Day rally on Monday:
You will get a free scholarship if you attend Jamhuri Day celebrations, Principal Secretary of ICT and Digital Economy, John Tanui says.
PS Tanui, a member of the National Celebrations Committee, made the sentiments during the preparations for Monday’s public celebrations at Nyayo Stadium.
In a statement, Tanui says the scholarships will be on technology certification courses, and will be awarded to eligible adults who will attend the event in person.
“Everyone will be assured of a scholarship for a certification course or a course that will enable them access some of the opportunities available online. We want to make our country the top talent of the world and the region,” said PS Tanui.
According to Tanui’s statement, the scholarships will be offered in various universities partnering with the National Government.
Adongo Ogony is a Kenyan Human Rights Activist and a Writer who lives in Toronto, Canada
