President William Ruto has appointed Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa as the chairperson of the National Steering Committee on Drought Response.
In a gazette notice dated Monday, November 21, the Head of State established the committee in order to deal with the ravaging effects of drought in the nation.
"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. The National Steering Committee shall comprise of Peter Ndegwa, CEO, Safaricom PLC — Chairperson," read part of the notice.
President Ruto further appointed Equity Bank CEO James Mwangi, Diamond Trust Bank CEO Nasim Devji, KCB CEO Paul Russo, Family Bank CEO Rebecca Mbithi and East African Breweries CEO Jane Karuku as members of the committee.
Other CEOs appointed to the committee were Joshua Chepkwony (Jamii Telecommunications), Crispin Acholla (British American Tobacco), Edwins Mukabanah (Kenya Bus Service Management) and Shamaz Savani (African Banking Corporation Bank).
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Hared Hassan of the National Drought Management Authority, Krishma Chavda of the ISHA Foundation and Patricia Ndegwa of Impact Philanthropy Africa were also appointed to the committee.
President Ruto said that the committee will be tasked with mobilizing resources to augment the government's drought response programme to alleviate the impact of the drought.
The committee will also collaborate with national and county governments to strengthen the national capacity for resilient recovery and protect development gains from recurrent drought.
It will serve for a period of one year effective immediately and will be reporting to Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.
