In addition, they requested the government to order a 6-month moratorium on bank loans currently being serviced by landlords.
LATAK wants the measures implemented as soon as possible as part of the country’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The association held a press briefing on April 1 in Nairobi that was also attended by officials from the Matatu and Boda Boda Operators Federation of Kenya.
File photo of lavish houses in Nyali, Mombasa
File
On their part, matatu and boda boda operators called for the government to reduce levies on fuel by at least 50%.
They further called for relevant authorities to reconsider parking fees during the pandemic.
The operators maintained that their businesses and livelihoods had been put in jeopardy by the crisis, asking the government to swiftly intervene.
With most landlords demanding rent by the 5th of every month, many Kenyans had voiced their anxieties over the situation, particularly low-income earners who are out of work as a result of the crisis.
Speaking to kenyagist.com on Monday, March 30, Nyali MP Mohammed Ali had stated that it was important for the government to reach an agreement with landlords to compel them to waive rents for two to three months.
He explained that, if a full lock-down was to be implemented, Kenyans who are already struggling having lost their sources of income would have absolutely no way of meeting their obligations.
Ali promised to push for the matter in Parliament as well as the creation of a special kitty to provide food to be distributed to households across the country.
The lawmaker on March 30 wrote to National Assembly Majority leader Aden Duale asking him to reach out to the speaker to convene a special sitting to deliberate the issues.
“There’s all this money recovered from proceeds of corruption, we’re also being given money by the World Bank and other partners, we even had billions to spend on the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI). Why can’t we channel all these funds to one kitty for Kenyans to put food on their tables?
“At the sitting, I will push for the creation of a special kitty to provide food and subsistence allowances for households in Kenya.
“I don’t think we’re taking this thing seriously enough. Even in Italy, they took it as a joke at first and continued with their lives but look where they are now. We need a lock-down, but only once we have put measures in place to protect the most vulnerable in society. Of course, if we have a lockdown, the government must tell landlords that, look, you need to waive rent for two or three months.
“This curfew is not effective, people are interacting all day and taking the disease home with them. Look at Rwanda right now, they have put a lock-down in place and they are providing every household in the country with food,” he asserted.
Mohammed Ali when he issued bursary cheques to needy students in Nyali on February 22
