Kwale County Commissioner, Karuku Ngumo has urged beneficiaries of the State-sponsored cash transfer funds to use the money wisely for it to have meaningful impact on their lives.
Mr. Ngumo said the initiative under Inua Jamii programme targeting the elderly people living with severe disabilities and orphans was being abused by some beneficiaries who squandered the cash.
“Irresponsible men abandon their families and waste the money on alcohol and entertaining women instead of using it to improve their lives and this must stop,” he said.
He advised the beneficiaries to use the money properly by meeting their daily basic needs in appreciation of the government’s well-intentioned intervention.
Mr. Ngumo was speaking Tuesday at the Baraza Park in Kinango Sub-County where he officially launched the new mode of disbursing the money directly to beneficiaries’ bank accounts, a departure from the previous cash payment that was prone to abuse among other challenges.
Under the old system, some elderly beneficiaries were denied their monthly stipends due to fingerprints defaced by effects of ageing.
Hundreds of beneficiaries who attended the launch opened accounts with banks contracted to disburse the funds. They welcomed the new payment model saying it will be more efficient.
Mr. Ngumo said the main agenda of the government was to empower the most vulnerable groups through the Social Protection Fund to cushion them against the effects of economic hardships.
“This programme was introduced by the national government to alleviate suffering among the disadvantaged,” he said.
He said Chiefs and the community policing teams will be involved in monitoring utilization of the money to ensure it benefits those targeted to avert cases of misuse.
“The money should transform the beneficiaries’ lives hence the need to keep an eye on how it is being spent,” he noted.
At the same time, the administrator took issue with care givers accusing some unscrupulous ones of swindling the legitimate beneficiaries.
“There have been numerous cases of deceitful care-givers assigned to assist the beneficiaries we will deal with them accordingly,” he said.
By Shaban Omar/James Muchai
