- President asks National Treasury to use proceeds of graft recoveries to support vulnerable groups in urban centres.
- Nairobi Metropolitan Services Directed to supply water to slums.
Image: PSCU
President Uhuru Kenyatta on Monday directed the National Treasury to allocate Sh2 billion recovered from graft to mitigate the effects of coronavirus among vulnerable groups.
Affirming that his government will stop at nothing to lessen the impact of Covid-19 on Kenyans, the President said the recovered funds will target vulnerable people in urban centres.
The EACC and the Asset Recovery Agency have recovered the cash from graft suspects, some of whom either resorted to out of court settlements or were forced to surrender the loot by the courts.
“In that regard, as we scale up our interventions against the current health pandemic, I direct the National Treasury to utilise the Sh2 billion of already recovered corruption proceeds to support the most vulnerable members of our society, especially the needy in our urban areas,” Uhuru directed.
Saying that the war on graft will not be slowed down by the fight against Covid-19, Uhuru said the money was recovered by various government agencies in the last year.
The President had earlier directed for the release of Sh10 billion to the elderly, orphans and other vulnerable in society through cash-transfers by the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, to cushion them from the adverse economic effects of the global Covid-19 pandemic.
The President further directed the Treasury to immediately re-allocate billions of shillings set aside for foreign travel by the Executive, Parliament, the Judiciary and the county governments to the fight against coronavirus.
The money is expected to be used in the purchase of masks, food rations and supply of water.
The government has banned all passenger flights into and out of the country, meaning that the travel allocation will not be spent.
Even as the government issued more measures to counter the spread of the virus, the president also responded to the hue and cry from the millions in informal settlements.
Uhuru directed the newly created Nairobi Metropolitan Services to immediately start distribution of free water to the inhabitants of all informal settlements.
This is part of the government's steps to alleviate the suffering of slum dwellers, many of whom have already lost jobs because of adjustments by industries and companies following the adverse economic implications of the pandemic.
“To that end, I direct the Nairobi Metropolitan Service, to not only continue but expand their provision of free water to all our informal settlements,” the President directed the Major General Mohamed Abdi-led authority.
The authority took over some critical services from Governor Mike Sonko's government following the transfer of four functions to the national government.
Edited by E. Kibii