Sh9bn for transfer to senior citizens set aside
Social Protection Principal Secretary Nelson Marwa. The government will next month disburse Sh9 billion for the elderly cash transfer beneficiaries. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- Some 1.3 million people will get Sh8,000 each for four pending months.
- State warns that no funds will be released to those who have not opened bank accounts.
- About 170,000 recipients were yet to open bank accounts ahead of this week’s deadline.
The government will next month disburse Sh9 billion for the elderly cash transfer beneficiaries.
Each of the 1.3 million beneficiaries will receive Sh8,000 to cover four-month arrears, Social Protection Principal Secretary Nelson Marwa said.
Each recipient gets Sh2,000 per month.
“We have the funds awaiting direct-to-account disbursements to the beneficiaries,” Mr Marwa said in an interview.
The PS said that 170,000 recipients were yet to open bank accounts ahead of this week’s deadline.
“I am requesting all of them to open bank accounts so that they do not miss next month’s disbursements,” he said.
Mr Marwa warned that the government would not pay beneficiaries without accounts.
The cash transfers target orphans and vulnerable children, the elderly, people with severe disabilities and those suffering from hunger.
Mr Marwa said the new system would ensure that only genuine beneficiaries receive the cash.
This is a departure from the past, when the recipients picked up the cash handouts from banks.
However, the new model will see them withdraw the money from their bank accounts using ATM cards or over the counter.
MOBILE PHONES
“The new system is expected to enable the beneficiaries to easily receive their stipends through their bank accounts,” Mr Marwa said.
The payment plan, dubbed Choice Model, is targeting all beneficiaries who have been receiving the Sh2,000 cash stipend.
The opening of new accounts is being done free of charge in all counties.
Authentication by old people can be through their finger prints, while all beneficiaries can access their funds through their mobile phones.
The recipients can only open accounts at the Kenya Commercial Bank, Equity, Co-operative and Postbank.
“The banks will be expected to put in place mechanisms for efficiently delivering payments of the Inua Jamii stipend to the beneficiaries across the country,” Mr Marwa said.
The payments for the enhanced cash transfer for those aged 70 and above comes with a free medical cover through the National Hospital Insurance Fund.
The ‘Inua Jamii 70 years and above cash transfer programme’ is an enhancement of the previous scheme that was initiated in 2012, and which targeted individuals aged above 65, who were living in extreme poverty.
