The News Brief: Yatani: New loans will jumpstart Kenya’s economy

Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani has defended the government’s quest for a Sh252 billion loan facility with the International Monetary Fund. Kenya is seeking the loan under the institution’s extended fund facility, talks which are set to conclude in the first quarter of 2021. The CS told the Star this would be to inject more capital into state-owned enterprises affected by the shocks of the Covid19 pandemic.

Almost 10 state companies are under financial evaluation over cash distress while the Treasury has not been able to disburse funds to the counties. But on Tuesday, said the IMF talks are a routine engagement in which the Treasury is looking at policy changes to reform the state enterprises. Yatani allayed fears the state was doing bad in terms of cash-flow, dismissing the assertions as ‘speculations’.

A standoff between doctors and the government looms after the union rejected the Health CS Muathi Kagwe’s counter offer. The union issued a 21-day strike notice on November 15, demanding among others provision of a comprehensive medical cover for all doctors in the country irrespective of whether they work in public or private health facilities.

Kagwe a day later announced that he had instructed the national hospital insurance fund to conclude negotiations for comprehensive group lives, last expense, enhanced work and injury benefits and group accident personal accident cover for covid-19 for healthcare workers. But speaking in Nairobi on Tuesday, the Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacists and Dentists’ Union dismissed the offer by the CS, noting that what was unveiled is still not addressing the concerns that they raised.

A statement by the Director of Criminal Investigations on Monday about the reopening 2007/08 cases continued to draw heat on Tuesday. Deputy President William Ruto waded into the debate saying that there are individuals aimed at inciting ethnic animosity in the country. His allies in Parliament launched a scathing attack against Kinoti accusing him of inciting violence between communities living in the Rift Valley.

The DCI boss appeared to be going on his earlier statement saying that his address on Monday was not intended to mean that the DCI was going to open completed cases that were investigated and closed. He noted that he spoke of DCI's commitment to investigate all reported threats to security and sensitise the public on the need for a peaceful co-existence.

President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga are expected to launch the collections of signatures to support the proposed referendum under BBI on Wednesday. The two are expected to make public a Constitution Amendment Bill arising from the BBI report and which has had to undergo changes to accommodate dissenting voices.

On Tuesday, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission issued the template form for the signatures which it will be required to verify. The BBI proponents aim to collect five million signatures though the Constitutional requirement is just one million. Raila has previously said that the referendum would be conducted before mid next year.

A large ‘test and treat’ campaign in the western part of Kenya has reduced new HIV infections by more than 50 per cent, results show. The strategy, which involves intensifying HIV testing and placing all positive people on treatment, confirms that virally suppressed people cannot infect others with HIV through sex. Researchers suggest the strategy could be the fastest way to control the epidemic in Kenya.

The approach was rolled out in Ndhiwa sub county, Homa Bay county, between 2014 and 2018. Between 2014 and 2018, the prevalence rate dropped from 24 to 17 per cent, and the percentage of new infections per year among the population at risk decreased from 1.9 to 0.7 per cent.