President William Ruto has promised to improve Women's funding, in honour of International Women’s Day.
Speaking during the celebration at the Moi Stadium in Embu County, Ruto highlighted the need to support women and push for equality in various roles.
Addressing the occupants on Friday, March 8, the head of state promised to effect changes to the Women Enterprise Fund, to support the women who have been particularly active in the uptake of development funds.
“We have disbursed Ksh942 million to 1.4 million women who are members of 53,000 women groups and are already accessing affordable financial facilities through the women's fund,” Ruto stated.
The President additionally directed Cabinet Secretary (CS) Aisha Jumwa, who oversees the fund, to implement three changes aimed at enhancing its impact and prioritising women's needs.
Ruto pledged to remove the requirement for collateral when borrowing from the Women Enterprise Fund and to further lower the interest rates to six per cent. These measures aim to alleviate the financial burden associated with loan repayment for women beneficiaries.
Also, among the promises was to enhance the money, as the Ministry works on eliminating and structuring the funds to reach more women in the country.
Citing the National Dialogue Committee (NADCO) report, Ruto noted that one of the major issues covered in the report is the two-third gender rule, to address gender inclusivity.
“On the matter of the two-third rule, Members of Parliament have now committed that the search to the course has been found,” he added.
"We have decided as a party and as a government that the national assembly through the parliamentary group and all the structures that we have will make sure we pass the matter," the head of state added.
“The Constitution instructs that women receive equal rights in leadership roles, therefore, we are working on amending the Constitution to include women in Kenya’s leadership.”
During the same function, Ruto also announced the appointment of ten women to serve as ambassadors, along with an additional six women appointed as deputy ambassadors, to represent Kenya internationally.
