The Ministry of Labour and Social Protection has released Sh.8.35 billion for payments to the beneficiaries enrolled in the Inua Jamii programme.
The Cabinet Secretary (CS) for Labour and Social Protection Florence Bore has further confirmed the disbursement of Sh. 11.2 million for Nutrition Improvement through Cash and Health Education (NICHE), which is a complementary programme to that of Inua Jamii.
“Each Inua Jamii beneficiary will receive Sh. 8,000 for March-April and May-June 2023 payment cycle,” she said adding that the fund has been channeled to Kenya Commercial Bank, National Bank and Kenya, Women Microfinance Bank.
The CS said this is the second tranche that was promised to take place immediately after the recent concluded November-December 2022 and January-February 2023 payment.
“The target population will be 1,042,854 regular Inua Jamii beneficiaries and a further 5,607 NICHE beneficiaries under the older persons cash transfer, orphans and vulnerable children and persons with severe disabilities cash transfer programmes,” she said.
She says the beneficiaries of the social protection programmes are particularly vulnerable and risks falling even further into poverty and deprivation.
She says the government remains committed to ensuring the most vulnerable members in the society are cushioned and their livelihoods improved through the various social protection programmes in place.
“Our social cash transfer programmes which provides cash to poor households and to empower the poor and vulnerable populations is designed to help them leap out of poverty,” she said.
CS Bore revealed this while on a familiarization tour of Base Titanium mining company in Kwale County.
The mining firm located in Msambweni Sub County of Kwale, simply known as Base produces ilmenite, rutile and zircon which are all considered critical minerals and represents a significant impact on the local and national economy.
The CS accompanied by Kwale County Commissioner Meru Mwangi and Msambweni MP Feisal Bader toured Base Titanium rehabilitation areas where food is being grown in partnership with the local community and Kilifi based Pwani University.
She got a chance to see how the mining firm works and commended it for the efforts made to protect life and avoidance of injuries at the workplace through proactively training workers on safety in cooperation with the Directorate of Occupational Health and Safety.
She later took part in the planting of 3,055 trees in an effort to rehabilitate forests and in line with the national government’s agenda to plant 5 billion trees in the next 5 years.
By Hussein Abdullahi
