Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has today said the government will fully involve Members of Parliament (MPs) in the rolling out of the Hustlers Fund.
Speaking when he opened the National Assembly Majority Party Parliamentary conference on Legislative Matters at Windsor Golf Club, the DP urged the Kenya Kwanza lawmakers to be ambassadors of the Fund meant to improve the lives of millions of hustlers across the country.
He said that the fund has been well received by Kenyans calling on the leaders to continue promoting it during their December recess.
“We are urging you to be ambassadors of the Fund during the recess. We would like to urge you to use the recess to explain to our people about the importance of the fund, its operations and importantly urge them to repay the money they borrow,” the DP said.
Millions of Kenyans have registered to get access to the billions of funds that have been made available by the government via a friendly and affordable loan facility. They are accessing the money via the USSD Code *254# through any of three mobile phone numbers: Safaricom, Airtel and Telkom. They are expected to settle the loan within 14 days of acquiring it.
The DP requested the lawmakers to take time with their constituents explaining to them how they could benefit from the facility.
“Kindly explain to the traders and those in the informal sector that this is a good fund and that once they get the money they need to pay. This is the responsibility we wish you to carry during the recess,” he said.
He said it was retrogressive for any leader to tell borrowers to take the loans and fail to pay.
The Deputy President also asked the MPs to be in the forefront in the implementation of recommendations by the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms requesting them to allocate money from the National Government Constituency Development Fund for construction of classrooms and laboratories for Junior Secondary Education.
He said the team’s recommendation on domiciling Junior Secondary School in primary schools will be implemented in collaboration with the lawmakers.
The Working Party, he added, found that 86 percent of Kenyans support the JSS being under primary schools.
“Competency Based Curriculum is not bad but it was rushed without public participation. 86 percent of Kenyans spoke strongly that the junior secondary should be domiciled in primary schools,” the DP said.
He challenged the MPs to quickly take the lead to make available resources to implement the recommendations.
“During your recess see how you will spend funds from the NGCDF to implement the recommendations by the Working Party. We want to lead by example in domiciling junior secondary in our primary schools. If we do so in our regions, the rest of the country will follow suit,” he added.
As he thanked them for their timely approval of nominees for Cabinet Secretary and Principal Secretary positions, the DP said the government will respect the role of parliamentarians challenging them to fully discharge their duties.
“We respect your role and will allow you to operate freely, make good laws and appropriate funds and provide robust oversight on the executive,” he said.
The DP also challenged them to be active in the House encouraging them to sponsor Bills in Parliament that would benefit Kenyans.
