Chiefs urged to involve the public in identifying beneficiaries

Chiefs and their assistants in Meru County have been urged to directly involve and work with the public in identifying genuine beneficiaries of government relief funds in their respective areas of jurisdiction.
Speaking to the media in Meru town, County Commissioner, Alan Machari said the newly introduced relief funds were meant to cushion the vulnerable against the economic effects caused by the prevailing coronavirus pandemic.
Machari said there were reports that some administrators were ignoring public participation in the ongoing registration process of people in need of support due to their socio-economic challenges which have been escalated by measures put in place to contain Covid-19 for the last few months.
He assured that players entrusted with the exercise at the county level had already developed watertight means of vetting for verifications of all enlisted potential beneficiaries to ensure nobody was disadvantaged due to age or personal relationship with administrators at location and sub-location level.
The county commissioner said any report on any administrator attempting to corrupt the process would be accorded the seriousness it deserves and immediate investigations launched to find out the truth of allegations labeled against them after which the necessary legal or disciplinary action can be taken.
Machari however challenged the public against giving inaccurate information on government officials to the authorities adding that the public should be more responsible in what they say as a way of enabling the government fully implement social protection programs with ease.
He said over 90,000 people had already been identified as beneficiaries of government relief funds saying although the county had not recorded a single coronavirus positive case, several people were feeling the effects of the pandemic as a result of the national economic hard times.
The county commissioner said the 90,000 potential beneficiaries were besides the over 34,000 people who have been benefiting from existing cash transfer funds initiated by the government, long before the pandemic to take care of the elderly, people living with various forms of disabilities and the orphaned and widowed in the region.
By Makaa Margaret