Inside President Ruto's bag of goodies for village elders

President William Ruto.[File]

At least 106,000 village elders across the country will enjoy monthly stipend, free smartphones, training and health insurance cover, the government has announced.

President William Ruto announced the support package on Tuesday at State House, Nairobi, during an engagement forum with more than 10,000 village elders representing their colleagues from across the country.

Speaking during the event, Ruto said the village elders will receive Sh3,000 monthly stipend to cement their recognition as part of the National Government Administrative system.

"Today, we formally recognise that historic role. The onboarding of more than 106,000 village elders across the 47 counties into the National Government Administration system is a major milestone in bringing Government closer to the people," he said.

"Beginning today, every village elder will receive a government stipend. This is not the price of your patriotism or your service. Patriotism cannot be compensated; it is priceless. This is simply recognition of the work you perform every day in serving your communities,” Ruto added.

He said the initiative is aimed at recognising the contribution of village elders in grassroots leadership, community mobilisation and implementation of government programmes.

These included mobilising communities for vaccination, census and voter registration, supporting school enrolment, drought relief and disaster response; advanced community policing; and identified vulnerable households among others.

He announced that the elders will undergo training to strengthen their skills in administration and improve their service to Kenyans.

The phones promised, he directed the National Treasury to allocate funds to purchase the devices for village elders.

The President also directed Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi to set aside funds in the next budget to ensure all village elders, their spouses and children are enrolled under the SHA programme.

The President also directed the Ministry of Interior to prepare a Sessional Paper to be presented to Cabinet and Parliament before December to create a legal framework protecting the new measures.

The Tuesday engagement meeting further saw chiefs and their assistants elevated as accounting officers in their jurisdiction with Authority to Incur Expenditure bestowed upon them.

On this, the chiefs will receive Sh50,000 annually while their assistants will have Sh30,000 in their favour.

At the same time, Ruto urged the elders to support his proposed National Development Charter, stating that it should be people-driven, citizen-centred and focused on a better future for Kenya.

"We call on leaders at the grassroots to champion the national conversation on the National Development Charter and to ensure the outcome is people-driven, citizen-centred and future-focused," he said.