•Those to benefit include orphans and vulnerable children, older persons and persons with severe disabilities.
•The payments are to be made through the six contracted payment service providers.
Image: EZEKIEL AMING'A
More than one million beneficiaries under the Inua Jamii cash transfer programme are set to receive at least Sh8.5 billion released by the government.
The money channelled through the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection to cater for the July-August and September-October 2021 cycles began being disbursed on Tuesday.
Those to benefit include orphans and vulnerable children, older persons and persons with severe disabilities.
The payments are to be made through the six contracted payment service providers.
They include Cooperative Bank, Equity Bank, KCB, Kenya Post Office Savings Bank, the National Bank of Kenya and Kenya Women Microfinance Bank.
According to the Public Service, Gender, Senior Citizen Affairs and Special Programmes CS Margaret Kobia, each beneficiary is set to receive Sh8,000.
“These beneficiaries have already been enrolled into the program and their accounts have been successfully submitted to the Consolidated Cash Transfer Management Information System,” Kobia said.
“Beneficiaries or caregivers can access all or part of this payment at any time over a six months period,” she added.
Kobia noted the funds will remain accessible in the beneficiaries accounts for a period of six months to reduce unnecessary rush to the banks and at the same time help avert crowding at the payment points.
Another Sh13.04 million has also been released to cater for the Nutrition Improvements through Cash and Health Education (NICHE) complementary Programme beneficiaries.
The NICHE is a state project that aims at investing in the scale-up of the existing nutrition-sensitive safety nets, and testing customised economic inclusion models - as a complement to the regular cash transfers.
At least 339,151 households are set to benefit from the funds and it targets households with children under two years of age and Pregnant or Lactating mothers who are already enrolled in the Inua Jamii Programme.
“The households will benefit from the top-up of the NICHE payment depending on the number of children enrolled in the (NICHE) complementary programme in Kitui, Kilifi, Marsabit, Turkana and West Pokot counties.”
According to Kobia, payment modalities for the funds have been agreed upon between the Ministry and the paying banks to ensure the Covid-19 guidelines on containment of the virus are strictly followed while paying beneficiaries.