What Homa Bay senior citizens undergo to access Sh2,000 monthly stipend

Every first week of the month, Chrispine Aluoch and Gideon Olang'o eagerly await information from their chiefs about an important government announcement.

They also prepare to travel to Oyugis Town to collect their Sh2,000 monthly stipend, but unfortunately, almost half of the money is spent on transport.

During this time, the government normally disburses funds to support vulnerable groups, and beneficiaries must wait for notification from their local administrators as to when they should collect the money.

The chiefs are assisted by members of the beneficiaries' welfare committees and child protection volunteers. For a whole week after the announcement, banks are usually inundated with groups seeking government assistance, so much so that some financial institutions set up special desks to deal with their clients.

Groups receiving cash include orphans, widows, people with disabilities, and the elderly over the age of 70.

However, the elders from Karachuonyo don't benefit much from the money because some of it is used as bus fare to the nearest financial institution.

Currently, elders get their money from banks, and anyone who lives far from a town with a bank has to spend a lot on transport.

In Karachuonyo, the elders travel to either Oyugis or Homa Bay Town to get the money.

Ideally, they should get banking services in Kendu Bay Town, the headquarters of Rachuonyo North sub-County.

But the fact that the town, which is one of the oldest in the county, has no bank makes getting cash from the government a daunting task.

Some of the elders complain about the challenges they face in going to the bank in other towns when they can get the cash from Kendu Bay.

Mr Aluoch and Mr Olang'o are elders from the area and both are beneficiaries of the cash transfer programme.

Mr Aluoch says he spends up to Sh1000 to travel to the bank in Oyugis Town to collect Sh2000 from the government.

He lives in Rambira Location. His journey usually starts with a motorcycle ride from his home.

“I pay the boda boda rider Sh70 to take me to the main road. The rates can go up if it rains," said Mr Aluoch.

From the main road, the senior citizen takes a public service vehicle to Kendu Bay Town. He pays Sh100 as the fare.

Oyugis town

"From Kendu Bay, I take another motorcycle to Oyugis, which costs Sh200," says Mr Aluoch.

Once in Oyugis, most elders spend hours in the banking hall waiting for their applications to be processed. Normally, the process takes a few minutes before the beneficiaries receive the cash.

 Mr Aluoch explains that due to old age, they are slow and it takes several minutes before they receive cash.

 "As other senior citizens wait to be served, they have to buy food and other refreshments," he says. Mr Olang'o also faces the same challenges every month.

He comes from Kamser Seka village and spends half of the money he gets to travel to the bank in Oyugis town.

“We can cut expenses if the collection point is close. There should be a bank in Kendu Bay," says Mr Olang'o.

After receiving his money, the senior usually pays Sh500 for health insurance. He takes home Sh500.

"What I get at the end of the day is not enough to get me through the month. I have to depend on my children," says Mr Olang'o.

Rachuonyo North Deputy County Commissioner Aaron Koros admits that elders face a lot of challenges when they collect cash under Inua Jamii, saying most of them go to Oyugis and Homa Bay towns.

However, he says the senior citizens can overcome this challenge if they register with banks that have agents in towns where there are no banks.

"Banks should also consider having agents in Kendu Bay. The agents can disburse the money to the senior citizens," the administrator says.

Mr Koros advises the elders to always use the cash prudently.

Mr Aluoch says that the government should consider increasing the cash for Inua Jamii from Sh2,000 to at least Sh5,000 per month.

 He argues that the amount will cover most of their basic needs.

"Inflation has raised the cost of living. What we are getting now cannot meet our needs even for a week," the senior citizen said.

Other elders expressed concern about not receiving the money despite being registered as beneficiaries.

Some of them say it has become tiresome for them to travel to banks every month without getting the money.

Mr Nicholas Ajigo, another senior citizen, has called on the government to ensure that the elderly do not have to travel long distances to collect their monthly stipends.

Homa Bay County Gender and Social Services Executive Sarah Malit says the county government is opening health facilities to cushion the elderly from travelling long distances in search of health services.

Social Protection Principal Secretary Joseph Motari said Thursday that the State Department is finalising plans to disburse the funds through mobile money transfers.

"We have also transitioned from bi-monthly to monthly Inua Jamii cash transfers and by December, we will have fully migrated to mobile money disbursements through M-Pesa to ensure greater efficiency and accessibility," he said, adding that stipends that were paid bi-monthly will now be paid monthly.

This transition, which will take effect on December 1, 2024, will help to significantly reduce cases where the elderly are usually waylaid and robbed of their money shortly after receiving their stipends from banks. 

While the number of beneficiaries of the cash transfer programme has increased from 1.2 million to 1.7 million, Mr Motari said there remains a large gap in reaching workers in the rural and informal economy, which they intend to address "as soon as possible."

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