On 11^th November 2022, KEPSA, led by the CEO Ms. Carole Kariuki, and the private sector committed during the meeting an amount of Ksh. 568,850,000 in cash and in-kind as indicated in the breakdown below. This is in addition to what had been committed from April, Ksh. 685,433,075 (both in cash and in-kind) and much more directly contributed to communities by individuals and businesses. Similarly, the UN led by Dr. Stephen Jackson, UN Resident Coordinator, made in cash and in-kind commitments on Friday. The total commitment from donors which includes the previous and Friday's commitment will be communicated by the UN.

Kenya’s private sector partnering with stakeholders from Red Cross, Rotary, and development partners has been actively supporting the Government in responding to the drought menace through the Pamoja Tuungane initiative. Under the leadership of the Deputy President working with other government offices and partners, the campaign organized the National drought response, which was launched by the President on 5th November 2022 in 13 counties.

Before yesterday's meeting, the Private Sector had done 3 phases since April. Phase one brought in a total of about Ksh.346,804,000 of cash and in-kind with Safaricom leading with Ksh.100,000,000 phase two cash and in-kind total of about Ksh. 119,200,000  with manufacturers leading through KAM with Ksh.104,000,000 cash and in-kind and third phase cash and in-kind about Ksh.219,429,075 with Bayer Ltd leading with Ksh.121,300,000  in kind.

Also present in the meeting was the Deputy President, H.E. Hon. Rigathi Gachagua, Cabinet Secretaries led by CS Rebecca Miano, EAC and Arid areas, some of the private sector leaders included; Flora Mutahi – KEPSA Chair, Dr. Manu Chandaria – KEPSA founding chair, James Mwangi – CEO Equity bank, James Mworia – CEO Centum Group, James Mureu – Chair, Economic Diplomacy sector board at KEPSA, Peter Ndegwa – CEO, Safaricom PLC, Bimal Kantaria – KEPSA Director, Richard Ngatia – President, KNCCI, KAM board directors, KBA rep, ABSA, DTB and KCB Leadership, family and corporative bank reps, Tullow group and many other businesses executives.

From the Donor side, present were also the heads of different UN bodies, the USAID country director, the World Bank country director, the Deputy British Ambassador, the EU, Irish, Jordan, Japanese, Denmark, among others.

Speaking during the ceremony, President William Ruto said the situation was still dire especially in 20 counties due to crop failure as a result of failed rains. He appreciated both the private sector and Donors for helping him and his government with this agenda which is the responsibility of the Government. Beyond the immediate need for food, water, and cash transfers, the Government is repairing boreholes, building new ones and water pans, and is working on 100 dams to mitigate the future dire effects of drought.

“We have to initiate long-term resilience activities to cushion the people against drought and food insecurity. We must consolidate our solutions to the situation. We are still requesting more funds targeting more immediate response,” he said.

President Ruto also said that the Kazi Mtaani Programme will be converted into a tree-planting initiative to help address the adverse effects of the climate change that Kenya is facing.

 In her remarks, Ms. Kariuki said that the Short-term goal of the Pamoja Tuungane initiative was to mobilize resources including food, medicine, dignity packs, water, borehole drilling, and logistics support to save lives.

“The mid-term goal is to champion policy changes toward mitigating this perennial problem, while in the long term the campaign focuses on attracting investments in climate-resilient agriculture, industries, strategic water storage facilities, water harvesting and food storage.

“In addition to this, the private sector through KEPSA recently launched the Private Sector Strategy on Climate Change Solutions 2022-2030 which aims to promote coordinated and inclusive implementation of business climate change solutions anchored in four pillars namely; Climate change mitigation, Climate change adaptation and resilience, Climate information and capacity building and Public-Private Partnerships for climate change. Among many commitments the private sector is keen to support the 15 Billion Tree planting initiative by GOK by 2032 through the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (MOEF). The private sector through KEPSA worked with the Ministry of Environment to get a commitment of Ksh.6.4 Billion Ksh. 49,565,000 cash and Ksh. 6,406,418,000 in kind (Seedlings and tree Planting Initiatives). The upcoming Presidential Round Table (PRT) will go into the implementation of these areas as well as develop an annual implementation plan for the Kenya Kwanza manifesto on areas of competitiveness and jobs” She said.

In his presentation, Dr. Jackson alluded to the weather initial reports showing the short rains currently will not be sufficient and next year's rains don’t look promising. He presented the drought effects in different areas as he shared the contributions so far by the international community.

During the meeting, the private sector both those who had given in the past and new ones gave the following commitments:    

ORGANIZATION/SECTOR                                                                    

1. Equity bank – Ksh. 121,850,000.00
2. KCB bank – Ksh.  100,000,000.00
3. Centum - will get support from funders                                        
4. Tullow - Ksh. 5,000,000.00
5. KNCCI – Will mobilize members to commit                                      
6. Elgon Kenya – Ksh.  1,000,000.00
7. DTB – Ksh. 20,000,000.00
8. Dr. Manu Chandaria – Ksh. 10,000,000.00
9. Safaricom - Ksh. 50,000,000.00 (Total to date: Ksh. 200m)             
10. Family bank – Ksh. 10,000,000.00
11. Middle East bank – Ksh. 2,000,000.00
12. Cooperative bank – Ksh. 150,000,000.00
13. ABSA Bank - Kshs. 20,000,000.00

Total Cash Contribution. Ksh. 489,850,000.00

ORGANIZATION/SECTOR

1. Tullow - Ksh. 39,000,000.00 - (Water contribution in Turkana, Water supply)
2. Cereal Millers - Ksh. 20,000,000.00 – (equivalent in food)              
3. Naivas Supermarket - Ksh. 20,000,000.00– (food hampers)

Total In Kind Contribution Ksh. 79,000,000.00

TOTAL CONTRIBUTIONS – (CASH: 489,850,000.00 + IN KIND:79,000,000.00) = 568,850,000.00

To contribute, use the below details:

Bank Name: NCBA Bank Kenya PLC

Bank Address: NCBA Centre, Mara & Ragati Road, P.O. Box 444599-00100 Nairobi

Account Name: PAMOJA TUUNGANE

Account Number: 1183000043

Branch Name: The Mall

Swift: CBAFKENX

Bank Code: 07000

Account Name: KAM COLLECTION A/C

Bank Name: ABSA Bank Kenya PLC

Branch Name: ABSA Towers

Bank Address: ABSA Bank Kenya PLC

Swift Code: BARCKENX

Account Number: 0948598736 (KES)

Intermediary Bank USD: Citi Bank New York

Swift Code: CITIUS33

Intermediary Bank EUR: Societe Generale Bank

Swift Code: SOGEFRPP

Intermediary Bank GBP: Barclays PLC

Swift Code: BARCGB22

Go to M-PESA /Airtel Money /T-kash:

Pay bill: 444777

Acc. No.: Your Name