• The stories making headlines in the Star this morning.
Image: JACK OWUOR
Good morning,
The Education ministry wants to strip public school principals of power to control monies sent to schools by the government, the Star can report.
The radical proposal is sure to create fierce resistance from principals and head teachers. It is believed, however, that other mangers of the purse strings will create a system with more accountability and fewer vested interests.
Under the proposed arrangement, the Education CS would be granted powers to appoint managers of school finances. The Star is in possession of the proposal documents.
Here are the other stories making headlines in the Star this morning.
Today's top stories in the Star.
Grandmother sold my baby for Sh35,000 — Mum
Long before Judy Waweru delivered her baby girl, unbeknownst to her, the infant had already been sold.
The Sh35,000 price had been set by her own mother, who tenderly cared for her while she was pregnant, an act Judy said she mistook for love.
When she went into labour on August 3 this year, her mother, Eunice Shimuli, was by her side.
"She offered to take me to Kenmed Clinic in Kawangware where I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl weighing 3.1 kilos," she told police.
Foreigner adoption ban sparks mixed reactions
No foreign national will be allowed to adopt a Kenyan child, for now, the Cabinet has declared.
A special Cabinet meeting chaired by President Uhuru Kenyatta at State House made the decision yesterday. The ban takes effect immediately.
The Cabinet also directed the Labour ministry to formulate a new policy to regulate the adoption of children by foreign nationals in the country.
Global award winner who has donated blood 172 times
In photos of him on the internet, Arjun Mainali, 51, seems to be perpetually reclined back, his hand stretched out and a tiny stress ball in the palm of his hand.
The sleeve of his (mostly) white shirt is rolled back to the biceps and a band is tied there. He is donating blood, almost all the time, with a smile on his face.
Across six continents, Mainali has donated 85.5 litres of blood, enough blood to power 17 people.
In the last 32 years, Mainali has donated blood 172 times. He has donated whole blood 123 times and platelets 49 times.
Ruto on whistle-stop five counties Coast campaign blitz
Deputy President William Ruto has lined up an elaborate tour of five Coastal counties seen as a charm offensive for his 2022 presidential bid.
His visit of Tana River, Kilifi, Kwale, Mombasa and Taita Taveta comes hardly two days after a similar tour by President Uhuru Kenyatta.
The DP was conspicuously absent at the Coast where Uhuru opened the ASK Show in Mombasa.
After a Cabinet meeting at State House in Nairobi yesterday, Ruto flew to Tana River county where he began the “development tour.”
Kenya to cut budget deficit to 4.8% of GDP in 2020/21
Kenya will cut unnecessary expenditure including trips abroad by government officials in an effort to rein in a gaping fiscal deficit, the acting finance minister said on Thursday.
The budget deficit for the 2019/20 fiscal year (July-June) has been set at 5.6% of gross domestic product, down from 7.7% in the previous period.
Critics have accused the government of President Uhuru Kenyatta of ramping up borrowing at a rate that will saddle future generations with too much debt. The government defends the borrowing, saying it is required to fund infrastructure.