Defence Principal Secretary Dr. Patrick Mariru has asked the Members of National Assembly to consider the Ministry’s proposal for monetary request to establish a state-of-the-art space Centre to enhance Kenya’s space capabilities. The PS said Kenya is strategically placed along the equator and thus in an ideal position for the Kenya Space Agency (KSA) to get space-derived data for proper decision making.
He made the remarks today when he appeared before the Departmental Committee on Defence, Intelligence and Foreign Relations at Parliament Buildings to defend the budget estimates for the 2025/26 fiscal year.
He further urged the Committee chaired by Belgut Member of Parliament Hon. Nelson Koech to inject an initial capital to the Ulinzi Prime Health Services (UPHS) fund to operationalise the fund.
“Currently, various military hospitals which attend to uniformed personnel and their dependants are underutilized, and following the UPHS Fund passed by Cabinet and ratified by this House, we are opening up the health facilities to certain cadres of civil servants. We implore you to allocate us initial capital to help us make it operational,” said Dr. Mariru.
The PS defended the work being done by the Kenya Shipyards Limited (KSL) in constructing, repairing and maintaining water vessels not only for the Kenya Navy but also for other Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and eventually contributing to national growth and development.
He urged the Members of National Assembly to allocate adequate funds to the Kenya Ordnance Factories Corporation (KOFC) and Kenya Meat Commission (KMC) to help modernise their equipment thereby enhancing their production capacity.
Dr. Mariru thanked the National Assembly and the National Treasury and Economic Planning for their continued support adding that the Ministry is determined to ensure that it complies with the government requirements on clearing the pending bills within the stipulated timelines.
During the session, the PS was accompanied by the Director General of Defence National Security Industries (DNSI), Major General Benard Waliaula, Managing Director Kenya Ordnance Factories Corporation and Food Processing Factory Major General George Okumu, alongside leadership from KOFC, KSA, KSL, KMC and other senior officials from the Defence Headquarters.
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