Elders and guardians of children with special needs have been urged to invest funds they receive from their social protection kitty in farming ventures to cushion them against poverty during these harsh economic times.
Speaking at Malaba during the launch of the Rapid Result Initiative (RRI) for the registration of the elderly above 70 years and vulnerable children in the society, Busia County Commissioner Kipchumba Ruto challenged them to invest the Sh2000 they received from the government rather than buying food directly.
“Those who will be selected to benefit from the programme, I urge you not to invest in your stomach by rather do farming as the area has fertile soil that supports agriculture,” noted Ruto.
He urged the social officers to use local administration to reach out to the target groups that needed support from the government.
“Within the remaining one week, I have given a directive to all the chiefs to reach out to all households that have this category of people to ensure all benefits,” said Kipchumba.
Teso North sub-county targets to register 1053 households for cash transfers for orphans and vulnerable children.
Busia County faces the challenge of vetting to identify the elderly, whose number is overwhelming, according to the County Commissioner.
“We have our mothers who were married here from Uganda, and they are yet to obtain national identification cards, though they are over 70 years old,” Kipchumba said.
He disputed those with the wrong myth about subsidised fertilisers, urging them to register to benefit from the programme that targets to address food insecurity in the country.
The sentiment was echoed by Teso North DCC Stephen Omondi, who took the platform to declare a ban on disco-matanga in the sub-county, noting that early pregnancies stretched government resources.
Omondi warned chiefs against Kangaroo Courts being supportive of cultural norms that were against government development agendas and the economic progress of the area.
“We have suspended disco-matanga in Teso North. We are completely discouraging teenage pregnancies and early marriages that deprive others of their precious dreams,” said DCC Omondi.
The government has said it intends to gradually add 500,000 more elderly and vulnerable Kenyans into the cash transfer programme starting next month who have attained age 70 and above.
However, the senior citizens have pleaded with the state to issue a new list of cash transfer programme beneficiaries because the current one is discriminatory.
The elderly also want the government to establish a system that will automatically identify and include in the list those who attain the required age of 65 years.
By Absalom Namwalo
