Insights

Our guide to the issues likely to impact businesses and the key measures taken by African governments in response to COVID-19.

Kenyans have been in a state of panic since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. From a projects perspective, contractors have been a particularly worried lot, seeing as the pandemic has affected supply chains and their ability to meet their contractual obligations.

In the wake of the spread of the COVID-19 global pandemic, the real estate and loan markets in Kenya are bound to be affected. On 16 March 2020, H.E. Uhuru Kenyatta, the President of Kenya revealed that three (and now 25) patients had tested positive for the virus culminating in presidential directives towards preventing its spread to the rest of the population

Having followed with great interest the ongoing debate on the power sector, fuelled by the thought-provoking articles written by Edward Njoroge and Jaindi Kisero recently, we would like to join the fray with some points to ponder.

Apart from the drama surrounding her controversial nomination and subsequent appointment as Nairobi Deputy Governor, perhaps the most newsworthy official action taken by Ann Kananu Mwenda since assuming office as “acting” Nairobi Governor has been the equally confounding renaming of Dik Dik Road in Kileleshwa, Nairobi, to Francis Atwoli Road.

Detention of patients by hospitals over unpaid hospital bills has become a very common phenomenon. Hospitals justify this practice on the basis that once they release patients it is impossible to follow up the unpaid bills. This phenomenon is a true depiction of the sad effects of ever-escalating cost of medical services combined with the dwindling financial fortunes of the average Kenyan. Lack of a national medical health insurance scheme has ensured that the situation remains unchanged.

The private sector undeniably plays a key role in contributing towards the attainment of Kenya’s developmental objectives. In fact, Vision 2030 pays particular cognisance to the need for strong partnerships between the Government and private sector, if the country is to achieve its developmental goals. The Big Four Agenda which is made up of the resource thirsty priority areas of manufacturing, affordable housing, food security and universal healthcare, will also rely heavily on private sector resources for its success.