Cash programme for the needy a success, says official
The officer in charge of the Social Protection Unit in the Ministry of East African Community and Labour Judy Ndung'u (centre) in Mukurweini, Nyeri during an evaluation tour of Inua Jamii Social Protection programme. PHOTO | JOSEPH WANGUI | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- The officer in charge of the Social Protection Unit in the Ministry Judy Ndung'u said the programme — initially meant to give relief to the elderly poor, the severely disabled and orphaned and vulnerable children — has had enormous benefits for the beneficiaries.
- Ms Ndung’u said while the programme was only expected to help beneficiaries meet their day-to-day expenses from the Sh2,000 monthly stipend, some of the beneficiaries had invested the money and were reaping more benefits than expected.
The Ministry of East African Community has said the Sh17 billion Inua Jamii social protection programme has realized huge communal impact across the country in spite of logistical challenges.
The officer in charge of the Social Protection Unit in the Ministry Judy Ndung'u said the programme — initially meant to give relief to the elderly poor, the severely disabled and orphaned and vulnerable children — has had enormous benefits for the beneficiaries.
Ms Ndung’u said while the programme was only expected to help beneficiaries meet their day-to-day expenses from the Sh2,000 monthly stipend, some of the beneficiaries had invested the money and were reaping more benefits than expected.
She spoke after visiting the home of Ms Julia Nyambura Njoroge in Mukurweini, Nyeri during an evaluation tour of the programme, whose family was selected for assistance because their 17-year old first born daughter is severely disabled.
They used the first Sh12,000 they received in 2014 to buy a dairy cow that gives them milk for domestic consumption and a surplus for sale to the local co-operative society.
The family’s affiliation to the co-operative through milk sales has in turn enabled them to access funds to improve their home from a mud walled house to a beautiful permanent house.
Ms Ndung’u said following the success, the programme is now looking into how to improve the delivery of the funds to beneficiaries in a timely and efficient manner.
She said the programme’s agreement with their financial partner, the Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB), was that none of the beneficiaries should travel more than six kilometers for the funds.
KCB’s Mukurweini Manager, Stephen Mate, said they had incorporated their neighbourhood agents in the payments system to improve service to the beneficiaries.
Ms Ndungu asked communities to work with their area Beneficiary Welfare Committee to help root out the few cases of fraud detected in the programme to ensure only the very needy get first priority.
In one case, she said a beneficiary had hired children and posed as the guardian of the supposed ‘orphans’ only to be discovered as a fraudster later.
She also said older people should not treat the disbursements as an automatic stipend for all people over 65, saying the selection for those to benefit was based on how needy they were.
