By LUKE ANAMI

Kakamega County: Nairobi County women representative Rachel Shebesh wants five per cent of the Uwezo Fund channeled to women and youth through Saccos and micro-finance institutions that operate at grassroots level.

Speaking during a burial in Khwisero constituency on Saturday, Ms Shebesh said the funds should be handled in manner that enables the women and the youth to benefit.

Interest free

“We want that some of the beneficiaries are women because for very long they have struggled to build their businesses,” said Shebesh who was flanked by businesswomen from Nairobi.

She said loans from the fund are interest-free and therefore women would not have a problem in repayment. “We now have a fund that is interest free,” said Shebesh.

Shebesh cautioned against channeling the funds through politicians, including herself, saying it was not possible to account for it. “I am advocating that this money be distributed through saccos that do not have a lot of bureaucracy,” Shebesh said.