• On Friday, Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe termed the matatu industry as “super spreaders” of the coronavirus.
• Kagwe said he would meet all sector players on Monday to forge a way forward following the spike in Covid-19 in the country.
Public transport players have said the government is insincere in the fight against Covid-19 and is unfair to the sector.
On Friday, Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe termed the matatu industry as “super spreaders” of the coronavirus.
Kagwe said he would meet all sector players on Monday to forge a way forward following the spike in Covid-19 in the country.
“The transport sector will be meeting under the guidance of the Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia ... as well as the Ministry of Health officials to determine what is it that we need to be doing in order to ensure that those people stay safe and the people being transported also,” Kagwe said.
Kagwe said public service vehicles crew will have to emphasise to passengers that they must wear masks properly when boarding vehicles.
There is a limit to how much even the drivers and the matatu conductors can do in terms of emphasising, he said.
Kagwe advised the matatu crew to desist from carrying passengers who do not have masks.
“It is as simple as that because if the police come and there is a passenger not wearing a mask, the person who is in problem is the matatu driver and the conductor,” Kagwe said.
The Health CS announced that several stakeholder meetings and press conferences will be held across the country from Monday.
He at the same time called out politicians for organising super spreader rallies.
“When you call a political gathering in a street, where there are so many people, it is just super spreading. And you know by the way and I want to repeat it. There is no point of carrying all these rallies and we follow with all these deaths and then when the deaths come, we go to the funeral and then follow with even more funerals.”
Kagwe said such politicians are the ones making average Kenyans suffer the most, adding that such leaders have made the government take measures that have seen many go jobless.
“It is because of those kinds of people who are acting in a manner that will send you to hospital and I guarantee you when you are in the hospital bed, when you are looking for oxygen, they will not be there with you, and you will be alone gasping for breath on your own. No politician will be there at that time,” he said.
Matatu Owners Association chairman Simon Kimutai said the claims made by CS are mere allegations.
“The claim of super spreader has not been proven. We have continued to emphasise the protocols by the government,” Kimutai said.
Kimutai said the sector was reeling from losses, having reduced carrying capacity.
He said that on a normal day, over 70,000 matatus and buses in operation raking in an average of Sh15,000.
This means the industry’s gross earnings amount to more than Sh1.05 billion on a daily basis, with earnings now dropping by between 70 and 80 per cent over the effects of Covid-19.
To adhere to the social distancing directive, the 14-seater matatus were directed to carry eight passengers, those with a 25-seater capacity to reduce to 15 passengers while those above a 30-seater capacity were directed to maintain a capacity of 60 per cent per trip.
On top of running costs including fuel, spare parts, tyres, crew, insurance cover and taxes, matatu and bus operators now have to incur the extra cost of providing hand sanitisers for passengers as well as fumigating the PSVs after every trip.
Kimutai accused the government of failing to cushion the sector so that it remains afloat.
He said counties have also failed to provide water for handwashing.
“Our work is to ensure that passengers have face masks at the right position, we have been raising some of the concerns with the government which have not been addressed so far,” he said.
Bus Operators of Kenya Association chairman Edwin Mukabana said they have not received an invitation to the meeting from the government.
“We are committed to ensuring that the protocols by the government are enhanced. However, we need to be treated fairly in terms of the passengers we are carrying,” Mukabana said.
He wondered why standard gauge and commuter railways were being allowed to carry full capacity.
Mukabana said the law should be applied without discrimination.
“We need to carry full capacity but follow all the protocols. People should have masks in the right position and vehicles sanitized every time.”
Mukabana said there is a need to move responsibility to individuals.