In his presidential address to the nation on Thursday, April 16, President Uhuru Kenyatta put a smile on Kenyans faces when he announced that a food stipend program had been initiated, with a pilot project underway in Nairobi County.
The Head of State, despite being impressed with how Kenya was tackling the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, was still wary of the fact that the disease was still in its embryonic stage, and mass testing could end up revealing more than it is desired, which may send him back to the drawing board.
As Kenyatta gave solutions to other worrying needs such as the welfare of health workers and the importance of the county governments' role in curbing the disease, more questions rose from his address rather than answers.
The strategies and criteria the government used to map counties that would receive the food donations should have been explained.
"We have identified needy households in Nairobi that will be the recipients of the weekly Covid-19 support stipend. Piloting started yesterday and some of the initial beneficiaries have received their package," Kenyatta stated.
The government took control of donations amid the pandemic after two women died while struggling for AU envoy Raila Odinga's donations in Kibra, Nairobi. Does the government have a laid down procedure of averting social chaos, if so which one, and how much would they use to feed Kenyans in case the country goes on a total lockdown?
"I have estimated that within the existing budget, we should program between Ksh 100-150 billion for the remaining 3 months of the financial year 2019/2020. When the new cycle starts, then depending on the outlook, we can program more money," economist David Ndii while speaking on KTN News on Saturday, April 11 opined how much Kenyatta would require to save Kenyans.
The Head of State also announced that Ksh8.5 billion would be issued to the elderly and vulnerable individuals under cash transfer programs run under the Ministry of Labour for the months ahead. In addition, Ksh500 million in arrears have been released to persons with severe disabilities.
The cash transfer program has been a bone of contention in Kenya for years, with the elderly wondering at how the money reportedly ended up in the pockets of the wrong people.
Another discrepancy to the program was pinpointed by former KTN investigative journalist John Allan Namu on Twitter, when he poked holes at Kenyatta's directive and compared it to a similar address the President made on Wednesday, March 25.
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"On March 25, in his address, President Kenyatta said that Ksh10 billion would be released to the same groups. Today this number is Ksh8.5 billion. Are they planning to release the balance of Ksh 1.5 billion? Is this the same fund referred to in the March 25 address?
"Given the extraordinary situation the country is in, can we (the public) be given access to the Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) the government is using to make these transfers in order to publicly audit them?," Namu asked, with his question directed to State House.
Chief of Staff, Nzioka Waita was cagey with his answer, riveting the question towards the implementation of Kenyatta's directive, rather than how the approach was laid down.
"This is an ongoing exercise, the first of several transfers of cash to implementing agencies. Please be assured that the commitments given by the Head of State will be implemented to the letter," Waita responded.
However, Kenyatta should also be lauded for responding to the welfare of the medical practitioners, by ordering a welfare package be set up for the frontline workers and for rescuing county governments from paying huge debts in accessing drug supply and medical equipment.
