The President also banned movement in and out of the Nairobi Metropolitan Area, Kwale, Kilifi, Mombasa and Mandera counties until June 6 after the regions were designated as COVID-19 hotspots following the outbreak of the pandemic.

Uhuru who spoke during a live address to the nation from State House, Nairobi also imposed a ban on movement into and out of Kenya through Tanzania and Somali borders. The ban does not apply to the transportation of cargo.

This was meant to make basic commodities more affordable to consumers during the economic crisis precipitated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Despite the reduction, the prices of many commodities on supermarket shelves and other retail outlets have remained the same, either because the reduced rate is too insignificant to be noticed or perhaps because the new VAT rates have not been effected.

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Minister Ukur Yatani told Reuters in an interview he was also concerned about the impact that debt relief might have on Kenya’s credit rating.

The Group of 20 major economies last month agreed to suspend payment obligations on bilateral debt owed by their least developed counterparts through the end of the year. The goal was to free up more than $20 billion that poor governments could use to buttress their health services.