The Kenyan Government through President Uhuru Kenyatta and Cabinet Secretary for Treasury will today as from 10.00 address the nation on the actions it will take to support the economy in a bid to soften the impact of #COVID_19.
Those in attendance include; Kenya Bankers Governing Council, CBK Governor, Payment Services Providers, President Uhuru & CS Treasury.
CBK Governor says that they will take all available measures to support the economy and ensure continuity of services. All cash coming from banks to be quarantined by a week. The impact on the economy is still unknown thus the measures will ensure the nation is well prepared.
Further, CBK urges banks to provide relief to personal loans for a period of upto 1 year seeing that personal loans account for 28% of all loans. In this case, all personal loans current as of March 2nd will be eligible for this consideration based on individual circumstances arising from the pandemic. Banks have been urged to bear the charges for balance inquiry and the cost of restructuring and extending loans to SMEs and corporate borrowers affected by the pandemic. Njoroge believes that combating COVID-19 impact on the economy and financial sector will require a co-ordinated efforts between government and all stakeholders.
Supporting the governor’s sentiments, KCB GROUP CEO, Joshua Oigara reiterated the banking sector’s commitment to support SMEs through financing and funding to facilitate daily operations. Banking sector services to remain normal thus Kenyans should feel free to visit their financial providers. Further, transfer between mobile wallet and bank account also eliminated and implemented from Tuesday going forward.
On his end, President Uhuru Kenyatta says they might take fiscal measures to support the economy.
“We have taken and will continue to take action on traders hiking prices of sanitizers, foods, and other goods to take advantage of this crisis,” President Uhuru. He added that stakeholder engagement will continue in the near term as they find ways to mitigate the COVID-19 economic impact.
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