President William Ruto on Thursday, April 20, honoured a request made by Lang’ata Member of Parliament Phelix Odiwuor popularly known as Jalang’o to offer volunteer opportunities to the youth in his constituency.
Jalang’o made the request on behalf of his constituents when the Head of State toured South C during a meeting with Kenya Red Cross officials.
The first-term MP had asked the Head of State to prioritise youth from Lang’ata as volunteers for Kenya Red Cross.
“Jalang’o had earlier asked me if Kenya Red Cross can train youth from this region so that they can ultimately become volunteers in cases of emergencies,” the President remarked while agreeing with the request.
Ruto further revealed that he would act on the issues that were raised by the Kenya Red Cross to enhance their efficiency.
The Head of State also promised to act after noticing that Kenya Red Cross had been operating on a rented building from Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) for years.
“I am told that you rent from another government entity. The Government of Kenya is going to transfer that logistics centre from KWS as a means of enhancing your capabilities,” he promised the organisation.
In addition to giving them the KWS building, the President further promised Kenya Red Cross a conducive environment to work in.
“The management has raised issues about fees and levies charged by government agencies.
“We are going to prepare a Law to be presented to Parliament to exempt Kenya Red Cross from government levies and some taxes,” he stated.
The President announced that the government would be allocating funds to the society to make it respond to humanitarian crises effectively.
“As a government, we are going to reconsider the decision that was made by the government of Kenya 20 years ago not to provide a budget line for Kenya Red Cross.
“Beginning this year, we will reinstate budgetary support by the Government of Kenya beginning with Ksh100 million,” he remarked.
Ruto further stated that medical institutions in the country would work closely with Kenya Red Cross in the training of paramedics.
“I have told the Minister for Health to see how Kenya Red Cross can partner with Kenya Medical Training Centres (KMTCs) to expand the courses on paramedics so that we can better respond to emergencies,” Ruto directed Health Cabinet Secretary Susan Nakhumicha.
