Slightly more than 22,000 persons enlisted under the Inua Jamii program from Nyeri County will begin receiving their June stipends from today.
A total of 17,000 of the beneficiaries are registered under the Older Persons Cash Transfer (OP-CT) persons, 4,000 are under the Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) while 1,300 are Persons with Severe Disabilities (PWSDs).
Yesterday(Sunday), the State Department for Social Protection and Senior Citizens Affairs PS Joseph Motari announced Sh3.2 billion had been disbursed to 1,607,996 beneficiaries, up from 1,037,773 in May last year.
A total of 570,263 new beneficiaries have been on-boarded onto the programme following President Dr William Ruto’s directive to upscale the programme to 2.5 million beneficiaries.
Nyeri County Director of Children Services Kung’u Mwaniki however said he will ascertain the true figure of the total beneficiaries once the payroll for the payments is officially out.
“What I know is that new beneficiaries who had applied may have been added in our payment data and will likely be among those who will be receiving the Sh2,000 for the month of June. But what I know is that a total of 500,000 of those who had applied to be considered for registration in 2023 across the country have been included in the Consolidated Cash Transfer Program Management Information System (CCTPMIS),” he has told KNA.
At least 26,000 persons from Nyeri had applied to be enlisted in the Inua Jamii scale up program by September last year.
The Government rolled out a nationwide registration exercise on September 1 last year and had planned to end the exercise after two weeks but this was later extended for a fortnight to avoid locking out deserving beneficiaries.
In Nyeri the Government had targeted a total of 3,952 new beneficiaries for the OVC and PWDs but this figure later surpassed the initial projection by 3,280 persons.
The official has also clarified that OVCs and PWDs will continue receiving their monthly stipends disbursed through their Mpesa accounts unlike in the past where such monies were sent through individual bank accounts.
However, beneficiaries under the Older Persons Cash Transfer (OP-CT) program will continue receiving their money through their respective bank accounts.
Kung’u said the payments will assist families taking care of orphans and vulnerable children ahead of the resumption of learning in schools after the brief midterm break.
“We shall continue paying money to Orphans and Vulnerable Children and Persons with Disabilities through their Mpesa mobile accounts. Those accounts are tailor made to ensure such funds cannot be deducted through the Fuliza overdraft system. These accounts are also secure and safe as the beneficiaries can access their money at the place of their convenience and avoid falling prey to fraudsters and rogue relatives,” he explained.
The State began disbursing funds for the Inua Jamii cash transfer program on a monthly basis last year to address perennial backlogs that had turned out to be an added pain to the intended beneficiaries.
The move came at a time when beneficiaries of the social safety net had been forced to wait for months before receiving the dues.
For one to access the Sh2,000 monthly stipends, he or she must have been registered through the CCTPMIS.
In addition, one must be in possession of an Inua Jamii payment card, national Identity Card and a caregiver national card every time he or she wants to make a withdrawal.
Elderly persons also have the liberty to choose among six banks as their payment service provider.
They include Equity, Cooperative, National Bank, Kenya Women Microfinance Trust, Kenya Commercial Bank and Kenya Post Office Savings Bank (Post Bank).
Dr Ruto promised his administration will be diligent in ensuring there is timely disbursement of the funds to enable the most vulnerable in life to enhance their quality of life.
The OPCT, PWSD-CT and CT-OVC program was established in September 2013 to uplift the lives of the most vulnerable members in the society as a measure to enable them to meet their most basic needs.
The National Safety Net Programme (NSNP) covers a total of 1.2 million households in the three cash transfer programmes.
By Samuel Maina
