Inua Jamii programme: State releases Sh16.7bn for the elderly
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua during a press briefing at his Karen residence on June 22, 2023. He announced over one million beneficiaries of the Inua Jamii cash transfer programme will start receiving their stipends towards the end of this month and next month.
Over one million beneficiaries of the Inua Jamii cash transfer programme will start receiving their stipends towards the end of this month and next month as the government revives the initiative that stalled in November last year due to a lack of funds.
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua said Sh16.7 billion has been released through the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection ahead of the disbursement, which will benefit a total of 1.07 million orphans and vulnerable children, the elderly and people with severe disabilities.
Each beneficiary will receive Sh16,000 to be disbursed in two tranches in June and July 2023 with four cycles of disbursement (Sh4.18 billion each) namely November-December 2022, January-February 2023, March-April 2023 and May-June 2023.
In addition, beneficiaries will receive Sh11.2 million as a top-up for beneficiaries under the free Nutrition Improvement through Cash and Health Education (Niche) programme.
The Niche project combines social protection, nutrition and child protection aspects in programming.
It is being piloted in the five arid and semi-arid land (Asal) counties of Kitui, Kilifi, Marsabit, Turkana and West Pokot.
Niche targets Inua Jamii and Hunger Safety Net Programme households with children aged 0-36 months and pregnant mothers.
“To date, the project has reached a total of 8,656 households. Each Niche beneficiary receives Sh4,000 in addition to the regular cash transfer,” said Mr Gachagua.
Payments will start on Wednesday next week through the six contracted banks — Cooperative Bank, Equity Bank, Kenya Commercial Bank, Kenya Women Microfinance Bank, National Bank of Kenya and Postbank.
Improving livelihoods
The Inua Jamii programme provides a bimonthly stipend to lift beneficiaries out of poverty and vulnerability with the aim of improving their livelihoods.
Gachagua added that in line with the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda, the government is undertaking various strategies to revamp cash transfer programmes for the elderly and vulnerable households to improve operational efficiency, accountability and coverage.
To this end, he said, the Cabinet has approved a memorandum directing the National Treasury to release cash for Inua Jamii beneficiaries in a timely and predictable manner with effect from June 1, 2023, and to expedite the finalisation of the Social Assistance Bill, 2023.
“This will provide a legal and institutional framework for the establishment of the Social Assistance Fund, which will expand fiscal space and enable the expansion of the programme from the current 1.2 million beneficiaries to 2.5 million over the next two years,” the Deputy President said.
The National Treasury slashed the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection’s Sh107 billion request for the coming financial year to just Sh36.1 billion, signalling its inability to meet an expanded list of beneficiaries.
However, Mr Gachagua said the expanded list would be supported by the supplementary budget.
“You know we are operating in challenging times but I want to confirm that our efforts to improve revenue collection are bearing fruit and along the way, we will be able to capture this in our supplementary budget so that we can make it more inclusive,” he said.
The database that will be used to pay beneficiaries will be continuously monitored by security agencies in collaboration with community health volunteers and elected leaders.
