By Joseph Mutua Ndonga
Since he arrived in United States of America (USA), President William Ruto has held talks with a number of world leaders and Chief Executives of big companies based in the US.
The President’s aim is to ensure Kenya benefits from these engagements.
The Presidents of Kuwait and Iraq are among the leaders he met and their respective countries are leading producers and marketers of the petroleum products.
President Ruto also held talks with the head of Ford Foundation in New York.
This meeting would draw much of the public attention because it came just a few months after Gen-Z protests fizzled out. At the height of the protests, the Government of Kenya pointed an accusing finger at Ford Foundation, an American private organization.
We have credible information that you are one of foreign organizations sponsoring these protests.
In so doing, the Foundation has deviated from its core mandate of funding programmes aimed at enhancing the course of democracy and culture of constitutionalism.
In a swift rejoinder, the head of Foundation vehemently denied the allegations.
While recalling Ford opened a Nairobi office in 1963, he said we have all along been undertaking our mandate in strict compliance with constitution and laws of Kenya.
Accountability, transparency and openness are some of the virtues that we hold so dearly.
All programmes and projects that we have funded in Kenya are in our Website.
We are however ready to respond to any concerns raised by the government of Kenya.
One would have however expected to hear the head of Ford admitting that sometimes it was hard to know how the qualified non- governmental organizations (NGOs) and community based groups (CBOs) were spending every penny of the funding.
Besides non-state actors, Ford was also sponsoring government programmes designed to further the course of good governance, democracy, human rights as well as empowering the society.
In New York, President Ruto praised the good work that the Ford Foundation was doing in Kenya. As you carry on with you work, I want to assure you of support and full blessings of my government.
Joseph Mutua Ndonga Is A Writer And Political Commentator Based In Nairobi