Sh26 billion windfall for poor households

More poor families will benefit from cash transfers in a new project funded by World Bank at Sh26 billion.

The five-year Kenya Social and Economic Inclusion Project targets orphans and vulnerable children, the elderly, and those living with disability in 39 counties that were previously not covered by the Hunger Safety Net Programme (HSNP).

The project will be implemented by the Social Protection State Department, led by Principal Secretary Nelson Marwa.

Yesterday, Marwa said new beneficiaries will be picked based on their poverty and vulnerability levels, informed by the Kenya Integrated Household Budget Survey (KHIBS) 2015/2016 data.

The World-Bank funded project seeks to strengthen social protection delivery systems, increase access to social economic inclusion interventions and improve shock responsiveness of the safety net system.

Currently, the Government spends more than Sh1 billion a month to take care of 1.3 million cash transfer beneficiaries.

More than 50,000 cash transfer beneficiaries have until today to open accounts through which they will receive their monthly stipends, Marwa said.

He urged elderly people, orphans and vulnerable children and those living with severe disabilities who had not opened accounts in the first phase of registration in March to ensure they do so by today.

The aim, he said, was to ensure that all the 1.3 million cash transfer beneficiaries receive their March and April monthly stipends straight into the accounts.

Each of the beneficiaries is paid Sh2,000 monthly adding up Sh4,000 every two months.

Marwa said in a statement that those who had not received their payments until February will  have their disbursements backdated.

Also covered are those living in extreme hunger. Those targeted in the latest exercise are those who failed to open their accounts in the first round, owing to inconsistencies in their details and those of the paying banks.

“I am urging all beneficiaries to open the accounts to ensure they receive their next cash disbursements without any difficulties,” Marwa said.

He added: “The government will not send out funds to beneficiaries without accounts.”

The process of opening the accounts started  on April 23, 2019, according to a letter by Marwa.

According to statistics from the Social Protection state department, 42,092 accounts were to be opened for older persons, 9,251 for orphans and vulnerable children and 3,111 for persons living with disabilities.

Until recently, the money was paid out through specific dissemination centres, which were difficult for the ageing people to access.

Last month, the government released Sh12.5 billion as direct payment to beneficiaries in the three programmes under the Consolidated Cash Transfer Programme.

Payment was done by the four contracted payment service providers - Co-operative Bank, Equity Bank, Kenya Commercial Bank and Post Bank.

“We are determined to ensure pay beneficiaries in cash and in good time,” Marwa said.  

“We as ministry will not tolerate cases where caregivers, bank agents or any other individual would want to take advantage of the beneficiaries,” he added.