As the Coronavirus pandemic continues to wreck havoc on various sectors in Kenya, some leaders have taken a different view of proceedings and noted the gains Kenyans have made and the valuable lessons learnt. At the Covid-19 response conference organized by the National Emergency Response on the Coronavirus on Monday, leaders led by President Uhuru Kenyatta praised Kenyans for their resilience and adapting to survive in the harshest of times.
Addressing the conference, President Kenyatta said the Covid-19 infection rate has fallen from 13% in June, 7% in August and now is at 4.4%, lower that the WHO level pointing to the flattening of the prevalence curve. He said that when the first case was confirmed in Kenya back in March, infectious disease unit beds were only 8, but now the isolation beds surpass 7,400 and ICU beds are over 300, “We’ve installed more medical equipment since the country’s independence.”
He stated that the expanded healthcare infrastructure is impressive. However, he urged Kenyans to keep on observing the Covid-19 infection prevention protocols, “With these figures we can be tempted to celebrate, now that we are below 5%. Yet these achievements are a paradox, the greatest danger is at that moment of victory.” On his part, Chief Justice David Maraga said the judiciary is still facing challenges with internet connectivity in some courts, this affecting court sessions. However he acknowledged the success of e-filing, “I learnt that even prisoners are happy to have cases heard when they are seated in prison. We can still do better.”
ODM leader Raila Odinga said Africans should congratulate themselves for taking measures to ensure Africa wouldn’t be a major victim. However, he said focus should now be shifted to local manufacturing to ensure Kenya doesn’t depend on imports, “When the world has shut down, you find yourselves completely helpless.” He said Kenya must be able to manufacture essential material and goods like pharmaceuticals to reduce overreliance on imports.
With one eye on the country’s economic recovery, ANC leader Musalia Mudavadi urged the Treasury to keep a close eye on the debt situation. He also noted that the pandemic has done away with the myth that some functions shouldn’t be devolved, on the evidence of how Counties have coordinated to tame the spread of the virus. He added that now, fault lines impeding the fight against the pandemic should be dealt with, citing that even politicians can be the ones dragging back progress by not keeping the infection prevention protocols, “We need to identify the fault lines and know what we can do to curb them.”