The national government is determined to adequately equip Community Health Promoters (CHPs) that will be charged with the responsibility of managing minor health issues at the village level.
President William Ruto says his administration will spend at least Ksh. 3.5 billion to provide the CHPs with the requisite medical equipment to facilitate their work countrywide.
Ksh. 260 million will be provided annually by the national government and county governments to cater for their pay.
Under the arrangement, half of the amount will be provided by the national government while county governments will contribute Ksh. 130 million annually to pay CHPs salaries.
President Ruto says the 100,000 CHPs to be spread across the 47 counties will play a critical role in decongesting health facilities across the country.
“Many of the conditions that end up in hospitals are minor. If they are managed early, we can manage to decongest our hospitals and we can manage our hospitals better if we go the route of promotive, and if we go the route of preventive,” President Ruto said Sunday after attending a service at Christ Church Cathedral in Kakamega.
Equipment worth Ksh. 120 million will be provided to CHPs in Kakamega County alone through the County Government.
As regards the management of hospitals, The Head of State indicated that he has reached an agreement with Governors to establish a Facility Improvement Fund that will ensure there is no diversion of funds meant for hospitals across the country.
He noted that the Government is committed to clearing county governments’ pending bills to ensure devolution is successful.
He, however, explained that he will not borrow from foreign lenders to pay counties.
“I want counties to succeed but on our own resources.”
He urged Kenyans to support the affordable housing plan to reverse the land fragmentation that threatens food security in the country.
The President said the Government has made significant agricultural investments to increase food production and hence reduce the cost of living.
“We must progressively invest in agriculture and support our farmers because the solution to reducing the cost of food is increasing food production,” he said.
Present were Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, Governors Ferdinand Barasa (Kakamega), Johnson Sakaja (Nairobi) and a host of MPs led by Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale.
President Ruto said he is committed to working with all leaders, regardless of their political affiliation.
“No part of the Republic of Kenya will be left behind,” he added.
Mudavadi asked Kenyans to be patriotic and have a sense of responsibility in the country’s development agenda.
He maintained that it was unreasonable to oppose government programmes because they are not direct beneficiaries.
Barasa said Governors support the Government’s initiative to raise resources from domestic revenue.
“On behalf of the 47 counties, we support your initiative to collect tax because we cannot have development with collecting tax,” he said.
Sakaja asked legislators to enact legislations that are in the best interest of Kenyans, citing the Finance Bill 2023.
“As a leader, never be afraid to be misunderstood if you are doing the right thing; you will be understood later,” he said.
The Nairobi Governor asked Kenyans to have faith in President Ruto, saying he has a good vision for the country.
Lurambi MP Bishop Titus Khamala said the world was facing a global economic crisis that has affected all nations, including Kenya.
He called on Kenyans and their leaders to support the government in implementing programmes to aid the country’s economic recovery.
Ikolomani MP Benard Shinali said they support the president’s transformation agenda for shared prosperity.
Additional reporting by PCS
