by James Anyanzwa

The European Commission (EC) has given Sh1 billion in grants to local private sector.

The money will support 15 Non-State Actors (NSAs) projects in Kenya in the areas of human rights and good governance and social sector issues in East Africa.

The grant is part of a tranche of funds open to NSAs such as Civil Society Organisations, NGOs, Private sector organisations, Independent Trade Unions and Community based organisations.

Mr Eric Van Der Linden, the EC’s head of delegation said the 15 project proposals by the NSAs had qualified under the commission’s ‘call for proposals’ scheme.

"These projects complement other development interventions funded by the commission and implemented in partnership with the Kenyan Government," he said.

Seven human rights and governance projects to be implemented locally will benefit from about Sh250 million while the Eastern Africa International Criminal Justice (EAICJ) Initiative will get a further Sh110 million.

A total of Sh220 million will be channelled into four local social sector projects, with three other East African projects getting a sum of Sh400 million.

Projects in the social sector such as agri-business, maternal health, sexual and reproductive health, and socio-economic projects with a combined budget of Sh3 billion are benefiting some four million people.

In a statement yesterday, Linden emphasised EC’s support for local NSAs saying they were critical to the attainment of reforms in their countries alongside the critical Millennium Development Goals agenda.

He said human rights and governance, including fighting poverty are key priorities.

The EAICJ initiative is a project of the International Commission of Jurists, Kenya chapter, which aims at carrying out a rigorous advocacy and capacity building campaign to ensure effective functioning of the International Criminal Court (ICC) process in Eastern Africa.

The initiative will promote the ICC in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Sudan, Rwanda, DRC and Central African Republic.

"This project is particularly important because it seeks to promote the ICC concept of justice within the region", said Linden adding that the EC was committed to deepening regional integration.

Kenya continues to lead in the amount of grant support to NSAs extended by the EU in the African, Caribbean and Pacific countries.

According to the EC, Kenya ranks well ahead of 76 other countries in Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Pacific in national allocations, having received more than Sh350 million this year.