Raphael Nzomo, chairman of NDMA, said the launch in Lokichogio is meant to help the poor residents improve their living standards, given that Lokichogio has no steady source of income for residents.
“Previously we had about 29,000 household beneficiaries. The Authority will increase the enrolment to 45,000 people so that many vulnerable families can be captured in the Program,” he said while addressing the media during the launch in Lokichogio Turkana West.
James Oduor, the CEO for NDMA, said the reason why they preferred cash instead of food is that cash has more advantages because of security since it passes through the bank. Secondly, with cash, families can use the money to begin small businesses.
“Cash transfer is friendly to families because they can use the money to pay school fees for their kids. They can also buy food and venture into small business instead of queuing the whole day for food, ending up missing the same food because of one reason or the other,” he said.
Oduor also assured residents there will be no more delays to release the funds because the authority has already bridged the gaps that hindered disbursement of cash on time.
Micah Powon, Principal Secretary for Devolution, said the government has shifted from relief food to cash transfer for efficiency and accountability.
Powon also assured residents that through agents they are going to open up in each centre the beneficiaries, mostly elderly, do not have to travel for long distances to access their payments.
(Edited by V. Graham)
