Days after Deputy President William Ruto visited Thika and Gatundu North Constituencies in Kiambu County, it has now emerged that the money he promised has not hit the accounts of beneficiaries.
During his visit on Saturday last week, Ruto gave a personal donation of Ksh 3 million to the small-scale business community as a form of empowerment.
Tens of bodaboda, Jua Kali and market groups from the two constituencies stated that while they are now optimistic that the donations made to them by the second in command will help them recoup from the shockwaves of Covid-19, they are yet to see the money that Ruto promised.
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According to Thika MP Patrick Wainaina, the money will be delivered in two weeks.
The group's representatives who met to strategise how the money will be shared announced that the Ksh 3 million will be allocated to legitimately registered groups and SACCOS adding that the money will only be used for their economic empowerment.
The money which will be remitted to the respective groups they said will go a long way in increasing their savings, helping them better their operations and purchase more effective tools of operation.
According to James Mburu, the chairman in charge of bodaboda sector in Thika Sub-county, the donations will increase the need for low-income earners to form cluster groups for enhanced growth.
"We are happy that the DP embarked on a bid to empower Kenyans. With the money, we hope to graduate from being rider to drivers," said Mburu.
His sentiments were echoed Bernard Mburu, a marketers representative who said that the money will go a long way in helping them scale from their current business situation to new levels as per the DP's Bottom-Up economic model.
Penina Wamethu who has been in the Jua Kali sector said the money will be distributed to women through table-banking and urged leaders to instead of giving them handouts to empower their businesses to grow.
Economist Kigo Njenga who is also the Gatundu North former MP noted that the money will serve as a crucial capital that will help small scale earners a major boost to the domestic economy.
"With such empowerment, the creation of job opportunities at the lowest levels will enhance the development of the country's GDP," Kigo said.
On his side, Wainaina who is also eying to be the next Kiambu governor urged leaders to shun issuing handouts to woo the electorate and instead told them to embrace the spirit of economic empowerment of people in groups.
Wainaina insisted that with Bottom-Up economic spirit, cluster groups will be able to secure cheap loans for their enhanced financial investments that will also go a long way in improving their living standards.
"With the Bottom-Up economy coupled with regulated importation of products that can be produced locally, we can be sure of a true transformation of our country's economy,
"Handouts are traditional means of discouraging the growth of the lowly population and I'm happy that leaders are now changing the route to empowerment programs," he said.
