Anglican Church of Kenya Archbishop Jackson Ole Sapit has called on the
government to invest in long-term projects.
The Archbishop said instead of handouts, the government should redirect
the funds to better healthcare and education.
He criticised government empowerment projects, saying they are
short-term and mostly end up in bad habits.
According to Ole Sapit, the government should instead redirect funds
spent on barazas and campaigns to other long-term projects.
“Handouts will never change anybody’s life. They will get it and
finish it in the evening with the liquors and other bad habits,” Sapit said.
He opined that people should instead be taught how to work and ensure that we have markets for our crops.
“I think what
the government needs is to put all the money being spent in these barazas and
even in these many campaigns and mini-campaigns that we see across the country, be it from the opposition or the government, is
translate that money into our schools,” he said on Saturday when he addressed the media.
The Archbishop
said that principals are crying because the capitation is not enough and they cannot
keep students in schools.
Ole Sapit urged the government to look at higher education, saying that the university funding model must work.
“We
want the funding model of the universities to work. We want the healthcare
system to work. But we also want the agriculture sector to work. The government
should put infrastructure in place so that every farmer will have the
opportunity to take their produce to market in time, because there are good
roads,” he added.
The
Archbishop further called out politicians, condemning the disruption of meetings
happening in the country.
Ole
Sapit said the disruption of meetings curtails the freedom of speech and
expression.
“Anything
that is thuggery is outdated and barbaric; anything that is thuggery is a sin in
the eyes of the Church and God, and therefore, if you are being used, you are
being used for a sinful act, it will earn you hell. If you do the right thing,
you will earn blessings and not curses.”
Ole Sapit
said that politicians should use their time and resources to plan and execute
tangible actions for Kenyans.
He
called on politicians to prioritise their actions rather than words, saying the
promises they made to Kenyans are unfulfilled.
“We
should be able to engage in things that are tangible and visible. We can be able to say that we have moved from here to here, that will be
far better,” he added.