Make bold, unpopular decisions! Uhuru tells governors over COVID-19 spike

Make bold, unpopular decisions! Uhuru tells governors over COVID-19 spike

President Uhuru Kenyatta has now told the National and County Governments Co-ordinating Summit to consider making bold and perceivably unpopular decisions in terms of restrictions in an attempt to contain the impending second wave of COVID-19 amid worrying trends in the past few weeks.

President Kenyatta, speaking during an extraordinary session convened on Wednesday, urged the county bosses to put on their leadership hats and focus on the bigger picture for the good of the country.

“I invite this summit to make bold and, once again, maybe not so popular decisions and I implore you to focus on your role as leaders, not managers. Let us look at the big picture and how it will affect the country, and your role in coming up with solutions to solve the problem,” he said.

“Fundamentally, focus on how we can enhance our human response to this pandemic in the areas of enforcement, early warning and response, and ensuring that the irreducible minimums are met.”

The Head of State also raised alarm over perceived non-compliance of the 11pm to 4 am curfew saying a section of authorities have taken advantage of the situation to breed corruption.

He further intimated that political rallies as well as bars that have been seen to be operating beyond the required times could be hindering government efforts to manage the virus.

“In some instances, the curfew enforcement points have become outlets of corruption. The question to this summit is this; is there a way that the national government could have coordinated better with county governments to arrest such eventualities?” He posed.

“Or is there a way we could have provided collective leadership to arrest the unexpected consequences of our roadside rallies and bars that have remained open beyond required timelines?”

President Kenyatta urged the summit, consisting majorly of county governments, to cooperate with the national government in coming up with proper and safe measures for reopening of schools.

“COVID-19 has put pressure on our education system and calendar, collectively, we need to come up with leadership solutions that provide us a feasible way forward. This will not be a national government affair only, it requires the involvement of all of us,” said the Commander-in-Chief.

“As we deal with enforcement, early warning and response and ensure that the irreducible minimums are in place, we must not leave the education sector behind. Innovative thinking on how to reopen our schools and learning institutions must be a shared responsibility between the national and county governments.”

— Citizen TV Kenya (@citizentvkenya) November 4, 2020

— Citizen TV Kenya (@citizentvkenya) November 4, 2020

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COVID-19 coronavirus President Uhuru Kenyatta

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