President William Ruto has today announced plans by the government to resume funding the Kenya Red Cross from the next financial year beginning July this year.
According to the head of state, the government will allocate KShs 100 million to Kenya Red Cross for the critical role it plays in disaster response and community support.
Making the announcement while attending a board meeting at the Kenya Red Cross headquarters in South C, Ruto pointed out that budgetary support for the Kenya Red Cross stopped 20 years ago.
“The government has reconsidered the decision that stopped the funding of the Kenya Red Cross 20 years ago so that the organisation can continue with the excellent job that it has been doing”, he said.
Ruto also announced plans by the government to sponsor a Bill to Parliament to exempt the organisation from paying fees to State agencies, laying out plans to transfer the land on which the organisation’s Logistics Centre is based from the Kenya Wildlife Service to the Kenya Red Cross.
“When that is done, the Kenya Red Cross won’t be paying rent to a government agency…The Kenya Red Cross qualifies as a government agency and should not pay fees and rates to other government agencies,” Ruto said.
The President also gave an assurance that the government will work with the Kenya Red Cross in the training of paramedics, authorizing Health Cabinet Secretary Susan Nakhumicha to facilitate a partnership where the Kenya Medical Training College will assist the Kenya Red Cross in teaching many more medical courses.
