Kagwe, give us more than just numbers

Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe yesterday appeared a little frustrated that his daily briefings have been compared to “mere ledgers” that lack content.

I honestly think that Kenyans are equally frustrated by the information the Ministry has given on the coronavirus pandemic in the past month.

The Ministry gives the daily number of tests conducted and the number of confirmed cases with little additional information that would give Kenyans insight into what is going on behind the scenes.

‘INDISCIPLINED’ PEOPLE

CS Kagwe has on many occasions described Kenyans as being indisciplined.

He is understandably frustrated because many Kenyans have refused to conform to the new measures set by the government for the pandemic.

However, talking down to people can be off-putting, especially for a large number of Kenyans who have followed all the measures to the letter.

Perhaps what I find most frustrating as a journalist is how the briefings are conducted. While I appreciate and acknowledge the importance of knowing how many people are confirmed to have Covid-19 and how many have recovered, I feel short-changed.

QUESTIONS LIMITED

The Ministry limits the number of questions asked by journalists despite the need for us to find out more and relay the same to our readers.

Even when opportunities to ask questions arise, the answers are brief and hardly satisfying.

Kenyans have questions beyond the numbers and they need them answered. Some people have raised this concern on social media and are taking out their frustrations on journalists for not raising these questions.

LONGER SESSIONS

As their mouthpiece, we need longer sessions with heads of the various coronavirus taskforces and the CS himself to be able to raise these queries.

One way to do this, perhaps, is by setting up webinars with the experts who can respond to some of the questions that we feel have gone unanswered for some time.

I understand that Ministry officials have limited time given the work they are doing behind the scenes, so these longer sessions could be arranged with journalists at least once a week.

We cannot say they are not doing their best to keep us informed, but they can do more.