The Principal Secretary for the State Department for Gender Affairs and Affirmative Action Anne Wang’ombe, has dispelled fears that the National Policy on Women’s Economic Empowerment (NPWEE) will takeover programs currently implemented by the elected women leaders under the National Government Affirmative Action Fund (NGAAF).
While addressing members of the National Assembly Departmental Committee on Social Protection, on how the government intends to implement NPWEE, the PS assured the members that the main aim of the policy is to streamline the women’s economic empowerment environment and not to dismantle any progress achieved so far.
“This policy is meant to tap into all other departments, consolidate resources and formalize mechanisms for delivering services to women with minimal constraints”, she said.
PS Wang’ombe was responding to concerns raised by parliamentarians over potential negative impact that the policy could have on the programs run by the National Government Affirmative Action Fund.
She said that the government saw the need to create an enabling ecosystem for women’s economic empowerment opportunities by addressing operational and institutional barriers that often isolate women and prevent them from exploiting such programs.
The PS emphasized that instead, the policy will complement NGAAF and other affirmative action initiatives by expanding the scope for more impact, eliminate duplication of programs and ensure that more targeted groups are reached.
The National Policy on Women’s Economic Empowerment which is currently under review by the National Assembly seeks to improve women’s direct access to and ownership of economic resources, foster financial inclusion among women entrepreneurs and strengthen institutional support and capacity for WEE programs.