Economist David Ndii on Wednesday, March 25, penned a hard-hitting letter to President Uhuru Kenyatta, warning him against making fatal errors over the spread of Coronavirus that may affect the country.
In the letter, the economist begun by highlighting some of the measures that the government had spelt out that were not working.
"Last Sunday, the government suspended international flights and imposed mandatory quarantine. Passengers did not find quarantine plans in place. They were held up for hours, then allowed to go home and report back the following day. Yet, the government had given assurance that a contingency plan for every scenario was in place, not true," he began.
"Last week, in only your second address on the pandemic, you launched an internet service. This was a serious error of judgment on your part, and distasteful opportunism on the part of Google," he continued.
Ndii stated that Kenyans were more worried about what they would eat while at home rather than the google collaboration that had already gotten a nod.
"Many Kenyans have accused you of being a prisoner of your privileged upbringing. You continue to reinforce that perception," Ndii added.
Further, the economist proffered what he thought of the president's leadership imperatives in five pointers.
To begin with, he stated that the head of state should broaden his leadership team by establishing a National Covid-19 Response Taskforce that should meet at least twice a week with the president as the chair.
He added that that the head of state should also establish an independent scientific advisory panel that would advise him and the National Covid-19 Response Taskforce.
Further, he advised President Kenyatta to mount an aggressive testing exercise for exposed people and clusters that would establish the extent of local transmission.
He preferred that the president should task the Cabinet to craft an austerity plan within the next seven days, with a target of identifying development projects that will be frozen and non-essential functions that can be mothballed with immediate effect.
Ndii also advised the president to provide a social safety net at the community level in the near future. The social safety net would help identify vulnerable households that may need assistance if and when the time presented itself.
The economist concluded by calling upon the president to put his act together.
"God knows your performance has not lived up to its billing- and that's being polite about it. It is your chance for public redemption," he concluded.
