Hello and welcome to the Evening Brief Newsletter where we are seeing all the dollar signs
Situational Awareness: President William Ruto has directed the company implicated in the fake fertiliser scandal to compensate farmers.
What He is Saying: “There are some cartels who want to hinder the food production process. I have directed that if farmers bought any fertiliser that was of poor quality should be compensated and given free fertiliser."
Bi-Monthly Payments
President William Ruto stepped out on Monday with bold proclamations aimed at easing the lives of farmers, more so their pockets.
His first tour was the Eldoret National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) stores where he confirmed that his administration was formulating a way to pay milk farmers every 15 days.
He narrowed down to insist that the new payment method will take off in July this year, with the pilot period done in 30-day intervals.
President's Words: "I have directed that starting this July, payments will be made promptly every end month just like salaries. In the future, I am making preparations so that farmers will be paid every 15 days so as to be able to buy animal feeds.”
The Justification: The Head of State pointed accusatory fingers at cooperatives which he claimed delayed payments for months, thereby affecting production and quality of output.
More Perks: Ruto also promised that beginning this month, the government would be paying Ksh50 for every litre of milk.
Contradictions: This comes a day after doctors turned down the Head of State's offer to pay interns Ksh70,000 stipend.
Ruto had insisted that the government lacked resources to match Ksh200,000 monthly pay demanded by the medical interns. In fact, he noted that his administration was working to reduce the wage bill which stands at 47 per cent of the total revenues. He wants to reduce the annual budget from Ksh4.2 trillion to Ksh3.7 trillion.
Doctors, however, insist that they are not scapegoats and guinea pigs willing to take a pay plunge.
Sleepless Nights, Wee Calls
Nearly two years after vacating the seat, former Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe has opened up about nightmares he endured handling Covid-19, specifically 3:00 AM calls he made to his former boss Uhuru Kenyatta.
The former CS revealed that the experience was draining and necessitated the then leadership to have sleepless nights.
He noted that he first texted senior leadership at the time including the Head of State and preparation for a late reply but the reply would arrive almost instantly.
“When you see certain things, you can not catch a wink of sleep because you are uncertain of when such deaths could befall your country,” he recalled.
“In a certain instance, we had to explain to Governors via Zoom calls, that they would have to allocate land for the burial of COVID-19 victims, and they would tell us they do not want to hear about those matters."
The Numbers: According to Worldometer updated on April 8 2024, Kenya recorded 344,130 Covid-19 cases with 5,689 deaths. 337,309 recovered from the disease. (Check the graph below for the rate).
Ksh1 Billion Monthly Power Bill
Energy Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir has crowned Devki Founder and Billionaire Narendra Raval as the biggest power consumer in the country and wants to keep him on direct dial.
Narendra, while launching a clinker-production company in West Pokot, told President William Ruto that he pays Ksh1 billion monthly power bill, the most of any company in Kenya.
What Raval is Saying: "I must tell you what I pay because I think the government is interested in what I pay in taxes. I want to pay the money to help all the children.”
"I pay Ksh2 billion shillings as a company every month to the government not as income tax but in the form of other deductions such as NHIF, NSSF, and others."
"I pay over Ksh1 billion to Kenya Power every month. In total, that is almost Ksh100 million a day. I have to look for the money every day and I thank my banks for trusting me."
"We pay Ksh75 million every month to Kenya Railways. I want to pay them Ksh200 million but they do not have the locomotives. If you give them the locomotives. I want to revive the railway, we will put slidings in all our companies.”
Here are five other stories to keep in mind today;
1.The prosecution has set free DJ Joe Mfalme and turned him into a state witness in the murder of a police officer effectively turning him against his hype man.
2. 6 hotels, including two located along Thika Road, have been put up for auction as per today's listings.
3. Tough Times: Mihrab Building landlord puts Betty Kyalo's Flair by Betty Salon up for auction over rent arrears.
4. The Office of the Auditor General led by Nancy Gathungu has flagged the Nairobi County Government headed by Johnson Sakaja over financial discrepancies, including employees who share a bank account.
5. Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has brushed off claims that the country is experiencing a surge in fatal accidents.
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This newsletter was written by Derrick Kubasu and edited by Brian Muuo.
Washington Mito contributed to the content.
Graphics prepared by Adongo Kyalo.
