This archive report was first published on 22 May 2020.
As the world grapples with the Covid-19 pandemic, Kenya's households are bearing the brunt of the economic downturn. A government survey published on May 22, 2020 highlights the dire situation, with over half of the population recording reduced incomes in the past two months.
Job cuts, business losses, and reduced agricultural productivity have drastically cut incomes, leaving many households struggling to make ends meet. For example, a third of tenants cannot pay rent, while few landlords are willing to give relief due to their own financial constraints.
The survey, conducted by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, confirms anecdotal information on the pangs occasioned by the virus. It highlights layoffs, forced unpaid leave, and a drastic decline in productivity in the formal sector, as well as colossal business declines in the informal sector.
Government-imposed controls, including a dusk-to-dawn curfew, movement restrictions, and the closure of schools, hotels, and airports, have cumulatively visited suffering on citizens. The concern, widely expressed in the report, is uncertainty over the reopening of the economy, which partly explains the increasing social delinquency.
Education is one of the worst-hit sectors, with many hours lost as learning institutions remain shut. Less than half of learners access online programmes, while 24.6 per cent of students are locked out due to lack of access to any form of learning.
The government has set up a task force to advise on the reopening of schools, but learners, teachers, and parents have lamented that the shutdown is hurting education and the online programmes do not reach everyone, creating distortions and inequality in the education sector.
The survey aims to inform the government on the conditions facing households and facilitate strategic responses. However, given the obtaining economic and social distress, it is evident that the relief measures enunciated by the government so far have not achieved the desired objective.
