Nancy Salamba, the Chief of Staff at the office of First Lady Rachel Ruto on Friday, March 24 told the National Assembly committee on Administration and International Security that the office faces a Ksh1 billion deficit in the office.
Following the shortage, Salamba urged the committee to allocate more funds to bridge the gap in her office.
"I ask the committee to consider allocating the Office more funds in the next budget to help mitigate the deficit in its budget that stands at Ksh1 billion," she told the committee.
According to Salamba, the office undertook more projects across the country that included engaging the youth and women requiring additional funding.
"The program of the Office targets to reach over 1 million women. The Office is also running a Prisoners’ Reform Program christened the Caracana among other programs aligned with the Bottom-up transformational agenda," she added.
She stated that the programs were geared towards promoting women's economic empowerment through capacity building, financial inclusion, trade, and market linkages.
Salamba also highlighted how the Office of the First Lady complimented the government on the achievement of its strategies.
However, members of the committee, while hinting at turning down her request, urged Salamba to liaise with other legislators especially women representatives to implement some of the programs.
"I realise that your target is also the target of women representatives. You need to work with them and indeed all legislators for more impact results," noted Rosa Buyu (MP Kisumu West).
On the other hand, Peter Kaluma (Homa Bay) suggested that it was time to entrench the Office of the First Lady in the government structure.
"I appreciate the job undertaken by the Office to support the family unit. The Office plays a crucial role in the wake of same-sex relationships," he added.
Meanwhile, the committee urged Rachel's office to continue with the Beyond Zero program that was initiated by her predecessor Margaret Kenyatta.
"It is imperative that the Office continues with the program as it was supported by the taxpayers and benefited the general public," the committee concluded.
