Dishi Na County is being touted as the solution to putting kids in school and solving the issues of dropouts.
That is from the face value, however, the truth is far from this fiction. Kenya is known for many instances like this, applying ‘solutions’ to things that aren’t broken. There are half-truths and many problems with the school feeding programme.
First, Dishi Na County, was rolled out even in schools that had well-managed school feeding programmes that were manageable and affordable to parents. But the parents were convinced that paying Sh5 per meal translating to Sh110 instead of let’s say Sh1200 was good.
Many parents, unthinking as usual, accepted the transition from good food for their kids to repetitive garbage that is undercooked rice, stale green grams (mung beans or ndengu) or beans.
Spot check show that most pupils don’t finish the food. It is a lot but also reaches them while stale.
If we take for example Bidii Primary School, one of the best performing in Eastlands. Parents used to pay Sh1200 per month for hot lunch that is rice, chapati, beef, and ndengu.
Parents could afford this as Bidii is a kind of a premium school, where entry requirements were hire and parents were financially able.
Putting a DIshi Na COunty kitchen squarely in this Buruburu based school was an afront on truth.
It was misplaced.
Pupils that need the school feeding programme actually missed it for months, some still do, due to this.
Secondly, the quality of foods cannot be guaranteed, as recent history show that Kenyan suppliers oftren cur corners and feed people with toxic foods.
We’ve had issues of aflatoxin in maize, mercury-laced sugar and plastic fish, eggs, cabbage and even rice circulating in Kenya.
There’s never been an audit of the foods and food handling at Dishi Na County kitchens.
Thirdly, it is a sham, promise lower fees for access to food, then later start increasing it in small amounts, and before you know it, it’s expensive and benefits only the private sector supplier of bad foods.
The Sh4.9 billion funded Dishi Na County started with free tracking watches, which were replaced for free.
Giving pupils such responsibilities to handle such gadgets was a set up. It was known they’d lose it and that money will be made from replacement.
An analyst told umoja news that that is not the final profit-racketeering.
‘As time goes on, you will notice that the Sh5 is increased to Sh10, then even Sh50. Which is sad, having captured parents who would mostly afford food for their children, especially in most Nairobi schools”, she said.
Umoja News sees this as an exercise by private interests to capture and fleece the parents off their money while offering the bear minimum.
Dishi Na County should only be taken where it is needed, not in schools in neighbourhoods where parents are able to afford quality meals cooked, hot in schools.
The quality and standards needs to be improved as people in low-income areas are not guinea pigs to consume low quality expensively paid-by-tax-payers foods.