• The Matiang’i-led committee is expected to provide leadership and policy guidance on the overall response to the pandemic and also develop a comprehensive package of the legal, policy, financial, technical and logistical resources required by the country
• The president has amended the National Emergency Response Committee on Coronavirus and added more members.
Image: PSCU
President Uhuru Kenyatta has formed two committees and the three working groups which will lead the government’s efforts in trying to flatten the novel coronavirus curve.
The first committee, the National Co-ordination Committee on the Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic (NCCRCP) will be chaired by the Interior CS Fred Matiang’i.
The committee is expected to provide a comprehensive national framework in response to the Covid-19 Pandemic, co-ordinate actions undertaken by various arms of Government, State Agencies and tiers of Government with respect to the virus.
The Matiang’i-led committee is also expected to provide leadership and policy guidance on the overall response to the pandemic and also develop a comprehensive package of the legal, policy, financial, technical and logistical resources required by the country in order to respond adequately to the coronavirus; and guide effective resource allocation towards the same.
NCCRCP will also monitor, evaluate and enforce all necessary measures required to ensure the effectiveness and positive impact of the national response.
Members included in this committee are CSs Mutahi Kagwe (Health), Ukur Yatani (Treasury), Raychelle Omamo (Foreign Affairs), Joseph W. Mucheru ICT) and Prof Margaret Kobia (Public Service).
Others are Monica Juma (Defence), Peter Munya (Agriculture), Attorney-General Kihara Kariuki, Head of Public Service Joseph Kinyua and Council of Governors chairperson Wycliffe Oparanya.
Also to sit in the committee are Interior PS Karanja Kibicho, Chief of Staff Office of President Nzioka Waita, General Samson Mwathethe, Chief of Defence Forces Major General P. Kameru, Director-General and Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and Strategy National Intelligence Service Ruth Kagia.
National Emergency Response Committee on Coronavirus members
The president has amended the National Emergency Response Committee on Coronavirus, adding more members including CSs Amina Mohamed (Sports), George Magoha (Education), Simon Nabukwesi (PS for University Education and Research), Robert Kibochi (Vice-Chief of the Defence Forces) and Kangethe Thuku who is the Principal Administrative Secretary in the Ministry of Interior.
The other committee members mentioned earlier remain the same.
The president has also formed three working groups to help fight the pandemic.
National Economic and Business Response Working Group
The group which is to be chaired by Treasury CS Ukur Yatani will lead Kenya’s response to the macro and microeconomic impact of Covid-19, protect the livelihoods of Kenyans during the crisis as well as developing strategies to ensure swift economic rebound after the crisis.
The group will coordinate the mobilisation of the financial and logistical resources required to respond to the pandemic.
It will also conduct a Household Economic Impact Assessment, develop and implement an appropriate response to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus disease on poor and vulnerable households and produce reports on the Economic and Business effects of the Covid-19.
It will also partner with the Private Sector and the Non-Governmental Organizations to develop and implement appropriate response strategies to bolster employment, protect incomes and mitigate the negative economic impacts of the virus a well as developing and implement strategies to protect MSMEs during this crisis.
Members to the National Economic and Business Response Working Group are CSs Betty Maina (Trade), Adan Mohamed (East Africa Community), Najib Balala (Tourism), Charles Keter (Energy), John Munyes (Petroleum), Simon Chelugui (Water) and CBK Governor Patrick Njoroge.
Other members are Treasury PS Julius Muia, Planning PS Torome Saitoti, Industrialisation PS Francis Owino, East Africa community PS Kevit Desai, Trade PS Johnson Weru, Kenya Revenue Authority Commissioner General James Mburu and the Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o.
Security Preparedness and Response Working Group
The group will be led by Defence CS Monica Juma in maintaining security in the country during the pandemic.
Other members are CS Macharia, PS Karanja Kibicho, Principal Administrative Secretary in the Office of President Kennedy W. Kihara, Defence PS Ibrahim M. Mohamed, PS for Correctional Services Zeinab A. Hussein.
Others are General Mwathethe, Director General, National Intelligence Service P. W. Kameru, Police IG Hillary Mutyambai and the Commissioner of Prisons Wycliffe O. Ogallo.
County Government Co-ordination and Food Supply Working Group
The third group is the County Government Co-ordination and Food Supply Working Group which is under CS Munya.
The group will monitor the availability of staple foods and take necessary action to ensure that there is an adequate food supply for all Kenyans during the pandemic.
It is also expected to identify food-insecure households and map them to their localities and develop a strategy to mitigate risks and provide support to those households.
It will also support and facilitate the flow and utilisation of resources earmarked for coronavirus from the national government to counties and to support and guide the harmonisation of policies and practices across the counties in their response to the virus.
The members to County Government Co-ordination and Food Supply Working Group include Devolution CS Eugene Wamalwa, Water CS Sicily Kariuki, CS Keriako Tobiko, Land CS Farida Karoney, CoG Agriculture Committee Chair Muthomi Njuki, Hamadi Boga.
Others are Principal Secretary for Crop, Water PS Joseph Irungu, Devolution PS Charles Sunkuli and CoG Chief Executive Officer Jacqueline Mogeni.