President Uhuru Kenyatta on Thursday, April 16 announced new measures to cushion vulnerable Kenyans from the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
One of the measures is the provision of a weekly stipend to needy families, with the first recipients of the pilot programme being Nairobi dwellers.
Addressing the nation on Thursday, the Head of State said the govt rolled out the programme on Wednesday, April 15.
“We have identified needy households in Nairobi that will be the inaugural recipients of the weekly COVID-19 support stipend. The piloting of the programme started yesterday and some of the beneficiaries have received their stipends,” Uhuru said.
He, however, did not disclose how much each household is set to receive.
To people who may be exposed to hunger, President Kenyatta directed the Covid-19 Emergency Response Committee to mobilize funds and distribute foodstuff to them.
The president also asked individuals and organisations that wish to donate to do so through the established committee. He said contributions to the emergency fund have reached Sh1 billion and consequently lauded Kenyans for being philanthropic.
At the same time, Uhuru said the national government will provide an additional Sh5 billion to support county governments in combating COVID-19.
He also directed the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority(KEMSA) to give the devolved units a three-month waiver for supplies to ensure counties do not run out of medical resources.
For elderly and vulnerable people, the President disbursed Sh8.5 billion under the cash transfer programme run by the Ministry of Labour. The funds will be distributed over the next few months.
President Kenyatta also noted that Sh500 million which was in arrears have also been released to persons with disability.
And to help navigate a possible post-Covid-19 recession, Uhuru said he would engage economic experts and other stakeholders to consider new or existing economic policies that can help Kenya thrive again.
