More Fee Burden for Parents, 58 SACCOs Face Auctions

Hello and welcome to the Money Weekly Newsletter, where we cover the latest government’s revelation that it cannot pay the full capitation of Ksh22,244 for High School students.

But first, a word from our sponsoring partner, Umba Microfinance Bank.

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Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi on Thursday revealed that the government could not pay the full Ksh22,244 capitation for high school students in the current Financial Year.

While appearing before the National Assembly's committee on education, the CS explained that the government could only pay Ksh16,900 for each student - creating a deficit of Ksh5,344.

The CS added that there are more students in schools than had been budgeted for. 

“If you look at the total budget for the year and divide it by the number of total students, you will see that instead of Ksh22,000, we are funding about Ksh16,000. And so we release 50%, 30%, then 20%. As to whether it is enough, it is not,” the CS stated.

As a result, schools may be forced to look for alternatives to finance their activities, including fee increments or early school closures in the 2nd and 3rd term.

Additionally, the CS revealed that the government could no longer sustain financing public universities, hinting at radical changes, including mass job cuts for staff.

He added that universities would also be advised to close some of their satellite campuses to reduce administrative costs.

"The Ministry of Education, in collaboration with universities, is expected to develop a comprehensive reform strategy that will ensure financial sustainability within public universities. 

“One, restructure public universities to reduce unnecessary administrative costs and measures of staff right-sizing and outsourcing of non-core services, and rationalising satellite campuses to dispose of such assets to offset pending financial obligations, among others,” Mbadi announced.

Here is a quick recap of the top money news for the week:

New SACCO Laws & Auctions 

• On Tuesday, the government directed 58 SACCOs to repay loans it had taken from the Kenya Union of Savings and Credit Cooperatives (KUSCCO). It is reported that the saccos had taken loans amounting to Ksh1 billion from the union in the last 20 years. Read here for the full coverage.

• The government has proposed a law that will regulate groups that SACCOs form, such as the Kenya Union of Savings and Credit Cooperatives (KUSCCO). As a result, such groups will also have to be licensed by the Sacco Societies Regulatory Authority (SASRA).

Catch Up on More News

WEEKLY MONEY TIPS

MONEY254 #MONEYTOK

Kenyans to Pay Ksh32K More When Applying for a US Visa in New Trump Policy

Kenyans traveling to the US will now pay an extra Ksh32,000 ($250) under a new "Visa Integrity Fee" introduced by the Trump administration.

This is on top of the current visa fee of Ksh23,000. The new charge applies to all visa holders—whether for tourism, business, or studies—and is only refundable if certain conditions are met, like leaving the US or becoming a permanent resident.

@money254hq

𝐊𝐞𝐧𝐲𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐏𝐚𝐲 𝐊𝐬𝐡𝟑𝟐𝐊 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐔𝐒 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐚 𝐢𝐧 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐦𝐩 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐲 Kenyans traveling to the US will now pay an extra Ksh32,000 ($2... See more

That’s a wrap for this week’s Money Weekly!

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