President Uhuru Kenyatta has tapped into a network of influential corporate leaders to mobilize resources aimed at containing the spread of Covid-19 and mitigating its economic effects. Globally the virus is spreading like wildfire ravaging economies and threatening the survival of the workforce.
The Covid-19 Emergency Response Fund which the national treasury has been instructed to set up on March 30, 2020, shall be governed by a board whose members have been selected from various industries but most notably the finance and manufacturing industry.
“The Government of Kenya calls upon all Kenyans, Corporate Entities both domestic and multinational, as well as our international development partners to support the national initiative. By doing so, Kenya will be better able to successfully contain the spread, effects and impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on our citizens, and particularly the most vulnerable members of society”, the President said.
This fund will be overseen by a board which shall be chaired by Ms.Jane Karuku, Kenya Breweries Managing Director. Dr James Mwangi, Equity Group Managing Director and Dr Narenda Raval, Devki Group Chairman also form part of the board. The other members are Micheal Joseph, Safaricom CEO; Joshua Oigara, Kenya Commercial Bank Group CEO, Phyllis Wakiaga, Kenya Association of Manufacturers CEO; Mohammed Hersi Kenya Tourism Fund Chairman.
Interior CS Dr Fred Matiangi and Council of Governors Chairman Wycliffe Oparanya have been designated as joint representatives of the government, in the same board.
Of significance is that the board constitutes members from the private sector representative of most sectors of the economy that contribute a significant amount to Kenya’s gross domestic product across counties.
“More than half of the county economic activity is driven by the services sector. GDP amounted to Ksh 3,992.7 billion in 2017, with the services sector accounting for 54.6 per cent, followed by agriculture (24.0 per cent) and industry (21.4 per cent). However, agriculture remained the most spread across counties, according to a report released by Kenya National Bureau Statistics in February 2019.
The government is keen on ensuring that the economy keeps running albeit at a slower pace than had been projected by the Central Bank of Kenya before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.
There is a need for more resources to be marshalled to avert an economic crisis that threatens to cripple the informal sector responsible for 83.6 % of total employment in the country.
The private sector has been collaborating with the government on various fronts in a bid to curtail the spread of the Covid-19 virus. On March 30 Murang' residents received 4,000 litres of free sanitisers distributed to them as a result of a collaboration between Kenya Breweries Limited and Kenya Pipeline Corporation who are making hand sanitisers using ethanol provided by the government that had been previously held for various offences.
