Surviving the economic ravages of coronavirus

The coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic has hit the Kenya economy hard and significantly hurt millions of households, most of which can no longer afford their regular incomes.

Big, small and medium-sized businesses have closed down or cut down on their operations in the short-term in a turn of events which is expected to send spiralling effects on the economic well-being individual household and the country in the coming years.

Whichever way you look at it, this will have a direct impact on poverty statistics in Kenya, a country whose credentials on this front are worrying, to say the least. More and more households will slide into poverty and those who already were classified as poor will head further south as the burden of the deadly disease pile.

Economic data has in the past proven that diseases are one of the biggest causes of poverty. From all indications, Covid-19 will cause much of it. All indications are that this pandemic, and its aftermath, will be for years to come.

Without going into economic models and theories, the most important issue, beyond health and safety is how households will survive with reduced incomes in the wake of the pandemic to reduce the poverty incidence. How can they mitigate and survive the Covid-19 consequences?

I have put together a few pointers on this which might be of importance to many a household that are battling the current situation.

Saving on food: Food is a basic need that is vital for our well-being, but at times we overspend on it, we over eat and even cause other health problems. As we seek to save costs we should cut down, food cannot be ignored. The excellent option here is to grow your food. Modern art in agriculture, such as hydroponics, will allow you to plant your vegetables in-house. Substitute your meal for cheaper ones. If for example you have been spending on meat, start considering cheaper substitutes such as beans among ohers. You are eating for survival not for luxury. Just have more of what really matters. Additionally, while government guidelines have already minimised movements, cooking at home is way better of an option to reduce on costs. Cook at home and choose recipes that include ingredients you already have at home or that are inexpensive. Social distancing does not mean cooking classes using new recipe more so when broke.

Saving on housing expenses will come in handy: Housing is a basic need that ought to be provided to any human being. Nonetheless, paying monthly rent with constrained income will be stressful. The options are; living alone? friends or relatives can let you stay with them as you couch-surf your way through corona hurdles. Sharing a roof with someone else is an excellent choice, for those who have such an option, since you will cut down the rent to half of what you are paying. If you have a family, you can consider shifting to a house that is cheaper and will be able to accommodate the entire family. If your landlord has one of those heavenly bound hearts, the one that is open to negotiation you can open up a discussion to get a better payment plan, and/or waiver, you will be lucky if you get either!

Minimise entertainment costs: Unlike food and shelter, entertainment is not a basic need, and one can entirely do away with it, thus saving a considerable amount of money. Reduce your budget for your alcoholic drinks for instance (I have seen queues outside wines and spirit shops just before the curfew time). Desperate time call for desperate actions, you won’t die for lack of your bottle of beer or a glass of wine, but hunger will kill you!

Cut down on transport costs: The curfew restrictions may have sorted this issue substantially, however, to note, moving from one point to another consumes money. If you can do without travel don’t! if walking can do don’t pay for transport, walking will make you even healthier. But wear a mask.

Avoid debts: If it necessitates you to take a loan, let it be minimal. Deficits always tend to drag someone into a pit that ends up being so hard to climb out of. It is a terrible idea to pile up loans at such a time when there is a lot of uncertainty. If already holding a loan, look for a way of negotiating for a moratorium or reschedule the same.

Leverage on available resources like technology: Online businesses for example could earn you a few more coins in this unusual environment and time.

Help each other: In these health crises and hard economic times, we can be our sister’s and brother’s keeper. Let us share the little we have, let us try and carry each other to post- corona. We can survive together!

It is undeniable that no income can be extremely stressful and it can throw many into despair and depression. On the brighter side, it can be a blessing to others who can build the right mindset.