This archive report was first published on 9 July 2020.
On July 8, 2020, the Migori County Government under Governor Okoth Obado allocated Ksh 4.1 million for the purchase of coffins in the 2020/21 financial year.
According to the Migori County Assembly Budget and Appropriation Committee, the allocation aimed to assist locals in arranging funerals for loved ones who succumbed to natural disasters.
Out of the Ksh 4.1 million, the Department of Public Services Management was allocated Ksh 3.6 million to purchase coffins, while the Department of Disaster Management received Ksh 500,000 for the same purpose.
“The County Government is given an opportunity to accord its members befitting send-offs. We based our allocation on the Public Service Commission Act of 2012. Every action undertaken is therefore lawful and a replica of what happens in the National Budget,” said Tom Akungo, Chairperson Budget Committee Migori.
Just days before, President Uhuru Kenyatta had directed Governors to heighten the fight against COVID-19 after reopening the country on July 6, 2020.
As of June 30, 2020, the Council of Governors reported that Migori County had acquired 125 isolation beds to manage the virus.
“Firstly, the order to re-open is given conditionally. Should the situation deteriorate and pose a challenge to our health infrastructure, it shall be ‘clawed back’. In the next 21 days, we shall study patterns of interactions and the spread of the disease,” Kenyatta warned.
