About 10,000 bar workers and matatu operators in Murang’a have received relief food from the county to shield them from the effects of the coronavirus outbreak.
Governor Mwangi wa Iria said most of the workers have been struggling since the government imposed a partial lockdown to control the spread of Covid-19.
The governor lauded the two sectors for complying with the directives to curb the spread of the virus and sacrificing their livelihoods to keep Kenyans safe.
Most bar workers, he said, went on unpaid leave as their employers could not afford to sustain their pay.
“As we support others, we realised we had to come up with a special support programme so that they do not starve,” Wa Iria said last week on Friday.
The list of beneficiaries was compiled in liaison with the county Bar Owners’ Association and matatu saccos.
Wa Iria, who handed over the food to beneficiaries’ representatives at the county headquarters, said the two groups will share the donation equally. That means about 5,000 beneficiaries from each sector.
The donation included maize, maize flour, cooking oil and beans. The representatives will disburse them to the individual workers.
“We are paying tribute to the workers for complying with the government’s directive by supplying them with the foodstuffs,” the governor said.
Last month, bar operators protested the closure of bars outside the county government’s offices.
They appealed to the government to include them in relief aid and stipends for the vulnerable.
Wa Iria said the county will support clergymen with foodstuffs saying they have also been adversely affected by the pandemic.
“Most of the churches depend on weekly contributions by members to support their operations and are severely affected,” he said.
Another 10,000 vulnerable families including those with disabilities, orphans and the destitute will also receive food donations.
The county government has procured 300,000 kilos of food to support about 30,000 families, the governor said.
He urged security officers to be on the lookout for those taking advantage of porous borders to cross in and out of areas in lockdown.
“Their actions are tantamount to committing suicide and intentionally spreading danger and should be treated as so,” Wa Iria said.
County Matatu Owners Association chairman Francis Manyeki said the sector has been losing Sh10 million every day since the pandemic began.
He said most matatus from Murang'a ply the Thika and Nairobi routes, which can no longer happen after the Nairobi Metropolis - that includes Thika - was put on lockdown.
President Uhuru Kenyatta on April 6 ordered the cessation of movement in and out of the Nairobi Metropolis to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
“We have about 2,000 matatus and each was making an average of Sh5,000 per day. Now all these people are at home doing nothing,” Manyeki said.
Edited by R.Wamochie
