Firms to give girls free sanitary towels picked

Three companies have been awarded contracts worth Sh237 million to supply sanitary towels to schoolgirls next term.

About 500,000 girls will get the pads from May this year.

Education permanent secretary James ole Kiyiapi said that the three companies picked to supply the towels would be known on Thursday.

Prof Kiyiapi said Sh3 million had been set aside to monitor the implementation of the new programme.

Initially, the Treasury had allocated Sh300 million for the pads.

But Parliament later reduced it to Sh240 million, Prof Kiyiapi said. “I am signing off the contracts on Thursday (tomorrow),” he said.

He promised to announce the names of the tender winners, noting that the most suitable ones had won the contracts.

Wednesday marks the last day for any aggrieved bidders to make appeals.

By on Tuesday, there had not been any appeals, which may have emboldened the ministry to make the announcement on Thursday.

Initially, the free pads was to have started in the third term last year, but was later pushed to January.

This date, too, was not honoured as the ministry took time to adhere to the public tendering processes.

Not enough

Last year, Prof Kiyiapi said the initial allocation of Sh300 million had proved to be insufficient.

He said the ministry had approached donors for additional support and that they “have shown good interest”.

By late last year, the ministry had identified regions to be included.

The plan was to give the sanitary pads to girls in Standard Seven and Eight in its initial phase.

“We will be supplying to primary schools in areas most affected by poverty,” Prof Kiyiapi said.