Economic strategy options available under Covid-19

Economic contraction, downturn and mark-time continue to be registered in Kenya with little uptake of appropriate policies. With policy denial, challenges in capacity worsen under Covid-19. Fast and furious, it pushes Kenya over a cliff no amount of PR or bling-bling can camouflage. Two primary lessons: the public to follow government instructions; the government to engage high-gear competences vital in public finances and the health sector. By March 2020, the UN estimates Covid-19 had cost Africa $29 billion.

Already stressed under a fiscal crisis and lack of coordination last October, Kenya perseveres with hardships. Institutional changes the Parastatal Reforms Implementation Committee proposed in 2013 that could have saved the day as buffers to Covid-19 responses (in the Biashara Bank — as a single agency for supporting SMEs — and the Sovereign Wealth Fund) lie in limbo. Covid-19 poses a quadruple challenge on whole-economy, health, jobs, and livelihoods.