Some 3,000 destitute families from Murang’a County are set to be included in a government programme aimed at uplifting the poor from poverty.
The targeted population, drawn from two sub-counties, will be enlisted in the Kenya Social Economic Inclusion programme (KSEIP) from June this year.
This comes after the end of the piloting of the programme where 1,500 poor families have benefited from the initiative funded by the World Bank in partnership with the government of Kenya.
Murang’a County Director of Social Services, Ms. Lucy Gakere, told KNA on Thursday that the pilot programme slated to end before June was successful and that the government is working to include needy families so as to assist them in starting small income-generating projects.
She observed that in KSEIP, every family benefited with Sh. 30,000 to establish small enterprises and another Sh. 24, 000, which was paid as a stipend of sh. 2, 000 on a monthly basis for consumption support.
Gakere divulged that 25 percent of the beneficiaries were drawn from those already listed in the Inua Jamii cash transfer programme.
“The programme benefited 750 families from Murang’a East Sub County and another similar number from Murang’a South. The beneficiaries are doing well since they can now raise their income without depending on the government’s cash transfer funds,” noted Gakere.
She said that the piloting of the programme started in 2019 and was conducted in five counties, including Murang’a, Makueni, Taita Taveta, Marsabit, and Kisumu.
The director said the World Bank had engaged a consortium entrusted to help the beneficiaries identify viable enterprises of their choice.
“In Murang’a, all the beneficiaries did well, apart from some challenges posed by the prolonged drought, which affected those who ventured into horticulture. Now the families can sustain themselves as we embark on picking other needy homesteads and including them in the programme,” she added.
Those who have benefited from the programme, the director said, were registered in village savings and loan associations.
She noted that the associations enable the members to save part of the income raised on a daily basis.
“Those in Murang’a South have managed to save more than Sh. 2 million, and those from Murang’a East have saved more than Sh. 4 million. The associations will help the beneficiaries source for funds and boost their businesses after the end of the programme,” she further said.
The process to select the next bunch of 3, 000 homesteads, as the director stated, will involve relevant stakeholders and target the most vulnerable families in the community.
By Bernard Munyao
