Hunger stricken residents to receive Sh6000 for four months

The Kilifi County government has announced that it will put the over 1,000 residents facing starvation under a four-month emergency programme.

Each family will receive Sh6,000 monthly to buy food beginning next week, under the programme sponsored by the county and the Red Cross Society.

This is a deviation from traditional relief food supply, where needy residents collect maize, beans, cooking oil and other items for use.

Governor Amason Kingi said residents from the hard-hit areas of Ganze and Bamba will benefit by receiving the cash through mobile money transfer platform M-Pesa.

In September, county officials introduced a similar cash transfer programme involving about 2,000 elderly people above 65 years, each of them receiving Sh2,000 per month, but its effect was not visible.

“The County Government of Kilifi, in conjunction with the Kenya Red Cross Society, has launched a cash transfer programme in which 1,000 households from Ganze Sub-county will benefit from a Sh6000 monthly stipend to enable families meet their basic needs,” read the statement.

Kenya Red Cross Regional Coordinator Hassan Musa said the the cash-transfer programme was prompted by the need to cut logistical expenses and grow local economies in hunger-stricken areas.

“A lot of money that is supposed to help fight hunger is usually wasted on logistics and the process of looking for service providers,” he said.

He said the tendering process is usually long and exhausting, adding that the new system would see the cost reduced by up to 98 per cent.

“The money saved from logistics will be given to the most vulnerable people resulting in the amount rising from Sh200 to Sh6000,” said Mr Musa.