More than 15,000 vulnerable households who are affected by drought in Tana River County, have started to benefit from the government’s emergency relief Cash Transfer programme.
Tana River County Commissioner (CC), Mbogai Rioba, said the government’s commitment of giving the beneficiaries choice of purchase and to spur local economies, the government moved from food distributions to Cash Transfers.
“In the last two months, we had received and distributed 1,500 bags of rice and 600 bags of beans, thereafter, the government came up with the Cash Transfer program for victims of drought instead of distributing food,” said Rioba.
The beneficiaries will be receiving Sh3, 000 monthly until the drought situation improves. The money will be channelled through Mpesa to the registered recipients in Tana River, Tana North and Tana Delta Sub-counties.
“In Tana River, the programme targets 80,000 people which translates to 15,000 households. I can confirm that the beneficiaries have started to receive Sh3, 000 monthly. The program will continue for three months for them to cater for basic needs,” The County Commissioner added.
Tana River has been witnessing rains for a couple of weeks now and according to the County Commissioner, it is a relief for pastoralists and farmers as livestock that had migrated to Tana Delta in search of pasture and water are now trooping back to their areas.
“Farmers have started to plant their crops to be food sufficient, despite that we know it will take time for them to be self-reliant. The government has devised several measures to salvage farmers from the biting drought,” said the County Commissioner.
By Sadik Hassan
