NAIROBI, Kenya Apr 5 – A new study by a market research firm, Consumer Insights, has revealed the coronavirus pandemic in the country has greatly affected the country’s workforce with pay cuts and job losses being the norm.
The study which was conducted online with a sample size of 2,359 respondents interviewed across other African countries revealed that Kenya was the worst hit country in the continent.
Ndirangu Maina, the pollster’s Managing Director, said 86 per cent of Kenyans had been adversely affected by the virus whose impact has plunged world economies into turmoil.
The research published Sunday further revealed that income of the Kenyan employed worker had significantly reduced at 76 per cent. Other employees have lost their jobs in extreme cases.
Kenya’s hospitality, tourism and agriculture sectors have been the first recipients of the reeling effects of the virus with a majority of the companies shutting their doors.
Companies that have however, managed to stay afloat during this period have resorted to instructing some of their staff to work from home in a bid to have a leaner workforce in the office in compliance with the Ministry of Health directive on observing social distance among other precautionary measures.
“For Kenyans in particular, working from home does not seem to be working too well, with 81 per cent of those interviewed saying that it is either less effective than usual or totally ineffective,” the findings revealed.
Other African countries that took part in the survey include: Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Ghana, Zambia, Cameroon, Eswatini and Botswana.
Kenya has so far registered four fatalities with the latest being a six-year-old boy who succumbed at the Kenyatta National Hospital with the number of infections also rising to 126 people.
The government has since announced additional measures with Kenyans now required to wear face masks when in public after research indicated that their application minimizes the spread of the virus.
