President William Ruto has appointed Safaricom PLC Chief Executive Ofiicer Peter Ndegwa to head the newly established National Steering Committee on Drought
Equity Bank CEO Dr James Mwangi and Nasim Devji of Diamond Trust Bank have also been nominated as members of the steering committee on drought to investigate the extend the disaster has ravaged the country and provide the amicable solution
“I, William Samoei Ruto, President and Commander-in-Chief of the Kenya Defence Forces, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by the Constitution and the Laws of the Republic of Kenya, do hereby:
Establish the National Steering Committee on Drought Response, with, The National Steering Committee which shall comprise of: Peter Ndegwa, CEO, Safaricom PLC — Chairperson,’’ Part of Gazette notice read
In his new appointment, Ruto said it has become necessary to institutionalize the framework for mobilization of additional resources to address the worsening drought impacts; with key target interventions being Food, Water, Livestock, Health, Wildlife, Energy, Education, Security, Forestry, Agriculture and Irrigation
He further added that there is a demonstrable public interest in further upscaling Kenya’s drought response and alleviation programme so as to address the growing humanitarian needs.
Others appointed as members of the committee are; Shamaz Savani, CEO, African Banking Corporation Bank (ABC), Paul Rushdie Russo, CEO, Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) Group, Rebecca Mbithi, CEO, Family Bank Kenya Limited, Jane Karuku, CEO, East African Breweries Limited
Joshua Chepkwony, CEO, Jamii Telecommunication Limited, Crispin Acholla, CEO, British American Tobacco, Asha Mohammed (Dr.), Secretary-General, The Kenya Red Cross, Edwins Mukabanah, CEO
Kenya Bus Services Management, Patricia Mugambi Ndegwa, Impact Philanthropy Africa, Krishma Jitesh Chavda, ISHA Foundation and; Hared Hassan (Lt.) Col., National Drought Management Authority Secretary: Murimi Murage, Office of the Deputy President
According to gazzetment, their terms of reference for the National Steering Committee
shall be to:
- Establish a private sector-led National Drought Mitigation Appeal Fund under the auspices of the Kenya Red Cross,
- Mobilize resources to augment the Government’s drought response programme in alleviating the impact of the drought ravaging the country
- Support interventions to cushion the affected populations from the effects of the ongoing drought by way of relief activities, including the cash transfer programme
- In partnership with the both National and County Governments, to strengthen the national capacity resilient recovery to protect development gains from recurrent drought
- Approve the opening and closing of Bank Accounts to be jointly operated by a representative of the Private Sector, the Government of Kenya and Kenya Red Cross
- Appoint an independent auditor from amongst our nation’s premier audit firms to prepare and certify the financial statements of the Fund
- Perform any other function or tasks as the committee may find necessary in order to fully discharge its mandate
- In the performance of its mandate, the National Steering Committee shall-report to the Deputy President , co-opt any person as it may consider necessary or expedient for the proper performance of its functions or the effective discharge of its mandate
“The National Steering Committee on Drought Response will serve for a period of one year with the effect from the date hereof, or for such a period as may be specified by notice in the Kenya Gazette,’’ It ended.
The secretariat of the National Steering Committee on Drought Response shall be based at Harambee House Annex, Deputy President’s Offices