Senate Majority leader Kipchumba Murkomen has warned the government to ensure that citizens have food lest they take out their anger on the relatively well to do Kenyans in their midst.
Addressing the Senate on Tuesday, March 31, Murkomen told the special committee to look at ways and measures of cushioning Kenyans from the economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
He stated that the committee should develop a broad-based stimulus plan that would focus on the most vulnerable members of the society.
"We must, through the Government of Kenya establish a cash transfer program to cushion over 10 million families that could be hamstrung by the economic impact of the Coronavirus pandemic.
"If we do not guarantee food to Kenyans living in Mathare slums or the Kibera slums, they will walk to Muthaiga and Karen respectively to get food for themselves," he warned.
Murkomen noted that the measures being taken at the moment were to some extent counterintuitive, as they were pushing Kenyans into a corner in the guise of fighting the pandemic.
"We saw that in Italy and other parts of the world that already these measures that are being taken (which are important) are having other counter repercussions which include the fact that people are lacking food to eat," he stated.
He insisted that the Ad Hoc committee put in place must come together and put measures that would ensure a balance to combat the spread of Covid-19 and at the same time guarantee food to Kenyans.
For this to happen, he insisted that it was time to listen to the voices of Kenyans who have something to contribute, regardless of whether they agree politically or not.
"I have read contributions of one David Ndii, a person I never agree with politically but Mr Speaker, we must be able to listen to proposals that various Kenyans will give.
"I have read the proposals of Jerotich Seii, a very serious critic of myself but we have had many discussions with her on the various measures we can take. We must listen to these people, even those we don't agree with," he stated.
He urged the government to also provide a stimulus package for farmers so that they can keep producing food for Kenyans and deliver it cheaply to the citizens' advantage.
He further urged his fellow Senators to put aside their political scores and focus on fighting the Covid -19 pandemic without seeking to gain political mileage from it.
