• The team is expected to explain the plans it has rolled out to contain the spread of Covid-19 as well as policy and legislative frameworks.
• The pandemic has brought the country to a near standstill, with many businesses closed for fear of the highly contagious virus.
Image: MAGRET WANJIRU
The National Emergency Response Committee on the Coronavirus will on Friday appear before a Senate panel to shed light on the measures put in place to combat the disease.
The committee, chaired by Health CS Mutahi Kagwe, will appear before the ad hoc committee formed to oversee measures to contain the virus and cushion Kenyans from its health and economic effects.
Kagwe’s team will explain the plans it has rolled out and propose policy and legislative frameworks needed. Some 110 cases have been confirmed in Kenya. Three people have died while four have recovered. The first case was reported on March 13.
The pandemic has brought the country to a near standstill, with many businesses closed for fear of the contagious virus. Globally, about 50,000 people have died and close to one million others have been infected since the disease broke out in Wuhan, China, in December last year.
The ad hoc committee chairman, Johnson Sakaja, said they have cast their net wide and will be looking at a broader spectrum to safeguard the masses.
“We are looking at economic and finance issues, that is: How to cushion Kenyans economically, food and water provision issues, health issues and support and auxiliary services issues,” Sakaja said.
The Nairobi senator said the team — which has held three meetings since its formation on Tuesday, two of them virtual — has also invited experts in fields such as finance, economy and health to submit their proposals on legislative interventions that can be put in place to fight the disease and protect Kenyans.
“We have invited doctors, nurses, clinicians, economists, lawyers, the Judiciary and many other bodies to submit their proposals,” he disclosed.
Sakaja said the committee’s end game will be to come up with legislative and policy proposals that will be submitted to the house for adoption to help Kenyans.
“We want to come up, ultimately, with legislation. That is the likely result of the initiative. But we will give a preliminary report on Tuesday,” he said.
The seven-member team includes Senators Sylvia Kasanga (vice chairperson), Michael Mbito (Trans Nzoia), Abshiro Halake (nominated), Mithika Linturi (Meru), Okong’o Omogeni (Nyamira) and Mohamed Faki (Mombasa).
According to the motion that created the committee, the team was required to discuss and come up with measures to ensure a continuous supply of food and other essential commodities at affordable prices.
In the motion sponsored by Majority Leader Kipchumba Murkomen, the panel was mandated to explore how the government can financially support vulnerable persons as well as workaround ways of cushioning small and medium business.
“The ad hoc committee shall oversight actions and measures taken by the national and county governments in addressing the spread and effects of Covid-19 in Kenya.”
The committee was also required to come up with a legislative framework that will see a stimulus package established for the micro, small and medium-size businesses to protect them from the economic hardships occasioned by the virus.
It is also supposed to come up with ways of protecting employees from retrenchment as well as commercial and residential tenants who could face evictions during these tough times.