Cabinet OKs Sh3.2 payout for women, youth and disabled suppliers

The Cabinet Thursday approved the release of Sh3.2 billion by the Treasury to settle debts owed to youth, women and disabled government suppliers.

The approval was made during a special Cabinet meeting chaired by President Uhuru Kenyatta at State House in Nairobi.

The payment is for debt owed to the suppliers under the Access to Government Procurement Opportunities (AGPO) empowerment programme for the 2015/2016 financial year.

On Monday, the Cabinet met to deliberate on how to speed up payment of the debts.

During the meeting, the Cabinet received a report from Treasury Secretary Henry Rotich and also examined proposals from all ministries on how to make the payments owed to the suppliers under AGPO.

The programme, initiated through President Kenyatta’s directive in 2013, requires that 30 per cent of all government tenders be given to the youth, women and the disabled.

This is the third meeting the President was holding on the issue in a span of one week. The first was held on Thursday last week. (PSCU)