Murang’a Senator Irungu Kang’ata wants the government to set aside Sh70 billion to help needy families survive the effects of the coronavirus.
He said at least seven million families live from hand to mouth and require urgent assistance.
The lawmaker proposes that the government disburses at least Sh10,000 to each for at least one month of these families to provide for their basic needs.
This, he said, is because the United Nations describes a person living in poverty as someone earning Sh100 everyday.
“The country has a population of 47 million Kenyans. With each household having at least four members, this totals to about 12 million families. If we exclude those in formal employment and the self-employed, the number reduces to around seven million homes,” he said.
The informal sector, Kang'ata noted, constitutes about 80 per cent of the country’s employment with many of the workers not having bank accounts.
He said though many countries have resorted to imposing lockdowns to manage the coronavirus spread, Kenya’s economic parameters are far below.
Kang’ata said the local Gross domestic Product per capita is about $1,500 per annum, while Italy’s is $30,000 and China $9,000, with a huge sovereign wealth fund of about $1 trillion it can use in times of crisis to support its citizenry.
“As we push Kenyans towards a lockdown, we must remember that a huge proportion of Kenyans survive from hand to mouth. If we tell them to stay at home, it will be a choice between death by the virus or hunger,” he said.
The senator further proposed that the government distributes the money through the cash transfer system used to support the elderly and disadvantaged.
This, he added, would reduce physical contact between the beneficiaries and government officials as opposed to issuing relief food that would require them to be gathered together during disbursement.
“If we chose food distribution, it would require procurement of foodstuffs which may take time, loaders and drivers to distribute the food from Nairobi to the specific areas. The long value chain would expose it to corruption,” he added.
He said the government can source Sh70 billion from projects that are not urgent through a supplementary budget.
Since the government does not set aside special funds, it can also expend tax collected or drawing from the huge savings accumulated by state parastatals.
The government can also cut civil servants’ salaries and refund the cut money later, he added.
“The government can start with a pilot programme, where each family first receives Sh3,000,” he said.
To avoid an inflation, Kang’ata said the government should ensure the supply side of the economy is not shut down to avoid under-supply that would resort to inflation.
President Uhuru Kenyatta on Wednesday announced the coronavirus cases had risen and directed that Sh1 billion from the Universal Health Coverage kitty be immediately appropriated towards the recruitment of health workers to help in management the virus.
He also announced that he and Deputy President William Ruto would take a salary cut of 80 per cent. Cabinet Secretaries salary will be reduce by 30 per cent.
Edited by A.N
