Screenshots of messages showing emergency cash transfers from the Government of Kenya in response to COVID-19.
A similar post has also been shared by a different Facebook user, who says that he received KSh10,000 from the government., Speaking to PesaCheck, government spokesperson Cyrus Oguna, refuted the claim, saying the government is not giving Kenyans money through M-Pesa to help cope with the economic slump caused by the coronavirus pandemic., On 25 March, President Uhuru Kenyatta clearly elaborated what the government is doing and sending money to Kenyans was not part of that. So, it’s not true — Government spokesman Cyrus Oguna, In an address to the nation on March 25, President Uhuru Kenyatta announced new measures to fight the spread of the infectious outbreak., These measures include a 100 percent tax relief for those earning a gross salary of less than KSh 24,000, reduced income tax from 30 percent to 25 percent, reduced VAT on goods from 16 percent to 14 percent among others., The president also announced that members of the cabinet will take a pay cut, with the president and his deputy taking an 80 percent cut, cabinet secretaries taking a 30 percent cut, chief administrative secretaries taking a 30 percent cut, and principal secretaries taking a 20 percent cut., Kenya has recorded 31 cases of COVID-19, one of whom has recovered, as well as one death so far. The country reported its first case on March 15., Pesacheck has looked into the claim that the government is giving Kenyans money as an emergency rescue package due to the economic disruption caused by COVID-19 and finds it to be FALSE., This post is part of an ongoing series of PesaCheck fact-checks examining content marked as potential misinformation on Facebook and other social media platforms., By partnering with Facebook and similar social media platforms, third-party fact-checking organisations like PesaCheck are helping to sort fact from fiction. We do this by giving the public deeper insight and context to posts they see in their social media feeds., Have you spotted what you think is fake news or false information on Facebook? Here’s how you can report. And, here’s more information on PesaCheck’s methodology for fact-checking questionable content., This fact-check was written by PesaCheck Fact-Checker James Okong’o and edited by PesaCheck Editor Enock Nyariki., The article was approved for publication by PesaCheck Managing Editor Eric Mugendi., PesaCheck is East Africa’s first public finance fact-checking initiative. It was co-founded by Catherine Gicheru and Justin Arenstein, and is being incubated by the continent’s largest civic technology and data journalism accelerator: Code for Africa. It seeks to help the public separate fact from fiction in public pronouncements about the numbers that shape our world, with a special emphasis on pronouncements about public finances that shape government’s delivery of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) public services, such as healthcare, rural development and access to water / sanitation. PesaCheck also tests the accuracy of media reportage. To find out more about the project, visit pesacheck.org., PesaCheck is a joint initiative of Code for Africa, through its innovateAFRICA fund, with additional funding support from the International Budget Partnership (Kenya) and Twaweza, in partnership with a coalition of local media organisations, and the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ)., Written by, Written by
FALSE: These messages showing emergency cash transfers from the government of Kenya are fake