• Currently, the curfew starts at 7pm-5am and only the essential workers are allowed to operate during the curfew.
• The sector also asked the government to lift the cessation of movement order in four counties.
Image: LINAH MUSANGI
The government has been asked to review the hours of the dusk to dawn order amid the surge of coronavirus cases in the country.
This was raised during the consultative meeting between the government and the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (Kepsa) on Covid-19 containment measures.
The Government-Private Sector Roundtable was held virtually, chaired by the Interior CS Fred Matiang’I on Thursday.
Kepsa said curfew hours should run from 9pm-5am to allow completion of work at this time when the economy has been affected by the virus.
Currently, the curfew starts at 7pm-5am and only the essential workers are allowed to operate during the curfew.
The sector also asked the government to lift the cessation of movement order in four counties.
They also said the government should allow movement for patients seeking treatment in major cities such as Nairobi and Mombasa.
The private sector has been hit hard by the virus since it was reported in the country.
Several restaurants and hotels have been closed due to the measures imposed by the government to reduce further spread of the virus.
Kepsa has also asked the government to open livestock markets and produce markets and allow farmers and agriculture professionals (especially farm managers/employees) to move through counties to access markets and sell produce.
During the meeting, stakeholders said that only 25 per cent of construction sites are operating and reviewing curfew hours will enable construction workers to continue working.
It was also revealed that poaching cases have increased due to reduced number of rangers and increased human-wildlife conflict as communities resort to wildlife as a source of food.
The government was also asked to consider classifying recycling as an essential business and to enhance inter-county transportation of recovered materials from counties to Nairobi and Machakos.
They said that recycling has reduced to 70 per cent due to businesses which have closed their operations.
Also, Kepsa said the government should allow truck cargo drivers to operate outside curfew hours and also allow public transport to operate up to 9pm.
It added that drivers and conductors should be allowed to move until 10pm using their NTSA badges as identification.