Kenyans ushered in the new year on the back of reports suggesting economic revival and growing optimism about a Covid-19 vaccine; twin developments that shine a ray of hope after a devastating year.
The projection by Treasury and Bretton Woods institutions of growth between 4.7 and 6.9 percent in 2021 from near recession following a year wasted by coronavirus pandemic signalled better days for a nation that strides into a year packed with landmark political events.
Schools reopen on Monday after a nine-month closure due to the pandemic, which struck in March, last year, while businesses, like the government, are also working to turn around their financial fortunes.
But the new year has a rude welcome in the end of the Covid-19 tax reliefs and the waiver of transaction fees for mobile money transfers of amounts below Sh1,000 that lapse today.
But the revival plan across all sectors is dependent on lasting containment of the virus and swift action to combat new strains such as that has once again grounded the United Kingdom and other parts of the world.
It will depend on the success of the vaccine, but there’s hope especially after the UK approved a vaccine tested on Kenyan volunteers. With over 1,667 Kenyans having died and another 100, 000 infected, Kenyans await the vaccine with bated breath.
Million of doses of Pfizer’s and Moderna’s vaccines have been distributed to countries around the world, while the AZD1222 developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca offers greater choice to the country because it is cheaper and easier to store compared to the others.
Health Director-General Patrick Amoth said the ministry had submitted its proposal to the World Health Organization’s Covax programme by December 7.
“The first 24 million doses, which will be for free, are from Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (Gavi). We have set aside another Sh10 billion to cover an additional 10 percent of the population,” Dr Amoth said recently.
The first consignment is expected later this month, with the first beneficiaries being groups at high risk of contracting the virus — health workers, police officers, the elderly and teachers. They will receive doses of the Oxford University-AstraZeneca vaccine.
The Ministry of Health says people who come into contact with crowds and those with two or more medical conditions will also be on the priority list.
An undated handout picture released on November 23, 2020 shows a vial of the Covid-19 candidate vaccine, known as AZD1222, co-invented by the University of Oxford and Vaccitech, in partnership with pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca.
Photo credit: John Cairns | University of Oxford | AFP
Being the eve of the General Election year, the calendar has heavy political events, with next month’s Nairobi governor’s election a prelude to the referendum showdown to amend the constitution principally to create the post of a Prime Minister and two deputies.
The referendum, which is scheduled for June, is expected to heat up the campaigns to succeed President Uhuru Kenyatta, who retires next year after two terms, and coalitions are expected to take shape.
On Thursday, Deputy President William Ruto stepped up the rhetoric during the homecoming of newly elected Msambweni MP Faiser Bader with a declaration that he will form the next government.
Last week, DP Ruto’s allies unveiled the United Democratic Alliance (UDA), a party they say will be their political vehicle in 2022. His key supporters have openly declared it’s the DP’s fall-back plan given the infighting in Jubilee.
A faction of the ruling party allied to the president which is hostile to the DP’s presidential bid is working with the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party of Raila Odinga, former vice president Kalonzo Musyoka’s Wiper and Senator Gideon Moi’s Kanu.
Political analyst Herman Manyora says the unveiling of UDA is proof that the DP is keen to pursue his own political path free of the President, with whom they founded the Jubilee Party in 2016.
Soy MP Caleb Kositany says the Ruto camp has decided to chart its own political path owing to the politics of deceit, dishonesty and disrespect to the constitution perpetuated by the President and his allies and which in his view characterised last year.
“We have to chart our own way because the people we started off with have defected to the opposition,” says Kositany, referring to the political deal between President Kenyatta and Mr Odinga.
Cotu secretary general Francis Atwoli forecasts a better year for the economy, but also agrees that the anticipated reforms through the referendum will come to fruition and set the stage for political formations going into 2022.
Tharaka Nithi Senator Kithure Kindiki, who was removed as Senate Deputy Speaker for his association with the DP, says that, while Mr Odinga has succeeded in killing Jubilee Party, he has also lost a big chunk of his base.
ODM chairman John Mbadi says the referendum is likely to heat up the 2022 succession politics, a position also held by Mr Atwoli. They suggest the outcome of the referendum will be key to the 2022 political formations.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
Nairobi governor by-election
With the DP declaring that he will not lead the ‘No’ camp in the referendum, the Nairobi by-election has instead offered him an opportunity to take the war for the control of politics in the capital to both the President and Mr Odinga’s doorstep.
ODM has since withdrawn from the by-election, an indication that it is keen to support the Jubilee faction allied to the President in the poll. It is hoped that the party will be rewarded either with a running mate seat or a share of the spoils once the new county government is in place.
During the impeachment of the governor, Dr Ruto and his allies fought tooth and nail to save Mr Sonko, but lost to a well drilled Kenyatta-Odinga team. This means that the DP team is likely to extend its battle right into the by election slated for February 18.
There is more reason why the DP would want to push his luck in Nairobi. Having shown bias toward United Democratic Alliance (UDA), the presence of the party in the race gives the DP the opportunity to test the waters.
Schools resume on Monday after the longest shutdown in Kenya’s history. The shutdown has disrupted the school calendar.
When the schools reopen learners will begin the second term while Form Four and Standard Eight and Grade Four, who resumes classes in October are set to sit for their national examinations between March and April.
“Working with parents, teachers should devise ways of recouping the time lost,” Kuppet Secretary General Akello Misori said in a statement yesterday, adding that this should be done though holiday and weekend tuition.
Attendants serve parents and their children at Patmat bookshop and uniforms stores in Nakuru town on December 28, 2020, ahead of the reopening of schools on January 4, 2021.
Photo credit: Cheboite Kigen | Nation Media Group
Globally, it will be a year Kenya will, beginning today, sit on the UN Security Council, 23 years since it was last a member of the global body’s most powerful organ.
It comes at a time of regional instability with the crisis in Ethiopia, violent Uganda election campaigns and Kenya’s diplomatic standoff with Somalia.
The maritime dispute between the two warring neighbours will be heard this year at the International Court of Justice.
At the International Criminal Court (ICC) the trial of Kenyan lawyer Paul Gicheru accused of interfering with witnesses in the case against Deputy President William Ruto and his co-accused Joshua Sang will get underway.
