Peter Ndegwa, CEO of Safaricom, named by Ruto to lead the committee for drought response.

A National Drought Response Steering Committee has been established by President William Ruto, and its chairman is Peter Ndegwa, CEO of Safaricom.
The committee’s establishment was required, according to a Gazette Notice published on Monday, in order to institutionalize the framework for mobilizing more resources to address the effects of the deteriorating drought.

According to President Ruto, the committee’s main actions would focus on forestry, agriculture, irrigation, livestock, health, wildlife, energy, and education.

Dr. James Mwangi, CEO of Equity Bank Group Kenya PLC, Nasim Devji, CEO of Diamond Trust Bank, Shamaz Savani, CEO of African Banking Corporation Bank (ABC), and Paul Rushdie Russo, CEO of Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) Group are some of the members of the committee. Family Bank Kenya Limited CEO Rebecca Mbithi; East African Breweries Limited CEO Jane Karuku; Jamii Telecommunications Limited CEO Joshua Chepkwony; and British American Tobacco CEO Crispin Acholla.

The Kenya Red Cross Secretary-General Dr. Asha Mohammed, the CEO of Kenya Bus Services Management Edwins Mukabanah, Impact Philanthropy Africa’s Patricia Mugambi Ndegwa, the ISHA Foundation’s Krishma Jitesh Chavda, and the National Drought Management Authority’s Hared Hassan (Lt.) Col. will also be on the committee.

Together with the Kenya Red Cross, the committee will be entrusted with creating a private sector-led National Drought Mitigation Appeal Fund and raising funds to support the government’s drought response program in reducing the effects of the drought on the nation.

The steering group, which will answer to the Deputy President, will also support initiatives like the cash transfer program that aim to shield impacted populations from the prolonged drought’s impacts.

Along with approving the opening and closing of bank accounts to be jointly run by a representative from the private sector, the Kenyan government, and the Kenya Red Cross, the committee will collaborate with the national and county governments to strengthen the nation’s capacity for resilient recovery in order to safeguard development gains from recurrent droughts.

The Harambee House Annex will serve as the headquarters for the National Steering Committee on Drought Response’s secretariat.