Machakos Devolution Under the Microscope as Core County Function in Sorry State
By Anchor Writers
Machakos County’s Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) centres and Vocational Training Centres (VTCs) are offering a sobering glimpse into the state of devolution, with senators uncovering classrooms starved of teachers, children sleeping on uncomfortable bedding and youth training centres without the basic equipment needed to prepare them for employment.
The revelations emerged during an oversight visit by the Senate Education Committee, led by its Chairperson, Senator Betty Montet, and accompanied by Machakos Senator Agnes Kavindu, Laikipia Senator John Kinyua and Nominated Senator Prof Margaret Kamar.
What the senators encountered was more than a collection of isolated shortcomings.
It was a disturbing picture of devolved institutions that are supposed to provide the foundation for education, skills development and economic empowerment but are struggling to deliver even the basics.
At some ECDE centres, one county-employed teacher is reportedly expected to handle three classes, forcing parents—many of them already struggling financially—to provide additional teachers themselves.
Senator Kavindu described the condition of the ECDE centres as “wanting”, questioning how young children can receive quality education in an environment where staffing and basic facilities remain inadequate.
The situation is particularly troubling at the foundational level of education.
Playgroup children were found sleeping on uncomfortable bedding during nap time, while classrooms are shared by learners at different stages of development.
Kavindu called for separate classrooms for playgroup, PP1 and PP2 learners, arguing that the current arrangement compromises both learning and the welfare of children.
The question is difficult to avoid: if a county cannot adequately provide for children at the very beginning of their education, what does that say about its priorities?
The problems extend beyond ECDE.
At Kalumoni Vocational Training Centre, the Senate team encountered a facility that appears to be losing the very constituency it was established to serve.
Enrollment has plunged from 124 learners in 2024 to only 17 this year.
The figures are stark enough to demand an explanation.
Senator Kinyua said only three students were present for an electrical course during the visit, yet the centre lacked the tools and equipment necessary for meaningful practical training.
Instructors explained that some students were away on industrial attachment, partly accounting for the low attendance.
But that explanation does not erase the larger problem: a vocational centre cannot effectively train young people for the modern labour market if it lacks the equipment with which they are supposed to acquire practical skills.
The decline in enrollment also exposes the uncomfortable economics of vocational education in the county.
In 2024, the area MCA reportedly helped students meet their fees, while the county provided bursaries.
When that support diminished, many learners could no longer afford to remain in college.
For young people already facing unemployment and limited opportunities, the inability to pay relatively modest training fees has become a barrier to acquiring skills that could potentially lift them out of poverty.
This is precisely where devolution was supposed to make a difference.
The Constitution placed key functions such as ECDE and vocational training closer to the people so that county governments could identify local needs and invest directly in services that improve the lives of their residents.
Yet the Senate inspection suggests that, in some parts of Machakos, proximity to government has not necessarily translated into better services.
There is, however, evidence that where resources and attention are provided, the model can work.
Kyamutheke VTC, for instance, is well equipped and currently hosts about 200 young people under the Machakos Youth Service programme.
The programme has about 1,700 youths distributed across various VTCs in the county.
The senators welcomed the initiative but said it needs considerably more investment.
Their proposal—to increase the number of beneficiaries from 1,700 to at least 3,000—would expand opportunities for young people at a time when unemployment and idleness remain among the county’s most pressing challenges.
But expanding a programme while some of the institutions expected to implement it are poorly equipped raises another question: should Machakos first repair the foundations before expanding the roof?
A youth empowerment programme cannot be sustained by numbers alone.
Young people need functioning training institutions, qualified instructors, adequate equipment and predictable financial support.
Otherwise, the county risks producing impressive programme statistics without producing employable graduates.
The Senate committee said its oversight exercise has so far covered 30 counties and will continue until all counties have been assessed.
That exercise should be taken seriously in Machakos.
The condition of an ECDE classroom in a remote ward may appear insignificant against the billions contained in a county budget.
But it is in that classroom that devolution is ultimately judged.
It is judged by whether a child has a decent place to sleep during nap time.
It is judged by whether a teacher has a manageable number of pupils.
It is judged by whether a young person entering a VTC can actually touch and use the equipment needed to learn a trade.
And it is judged by whether a poor parent can afford to keep a child in training without having to plead for help from an MCA or rely on an uncertain bursary.
These are not peripheral issues; they are the everyday face of devolution.
The Senate visit therefore offers Machakos County more than another oversight report. It provides a mirror.
And the reflection is uncomfortable: while some centres are demonstrating what investment in young people can achieve, others are struggling with basic staffing, facilities, equipment and affordability.
The county government cannot plausibly speak of empowering its youth while training centres are emptying because students cannot afford fees or because institutions lack the equipment to train them.
Nor can it claim to have prioritised education if the youngest learners are crowded into inadequate classrooms and parents are forced to fill gaps in county staffing.
The challenge now is not another promise- and the time for accountability has come.
It is for the county administration to explain why this mess is existing, what it will do with a ticking clock—and how quickly—to fix the deficiencies exposed by the Senate.
Because these centres are not merely buildings scattered across Machakos- they are among the most tangible expressions of devolution.
And what the senators have seen in them amounts to a troubling peep into the state of affairs in Machakos County.
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