Administrators of the National Hygiene program (Kazi Mtaani) in Kiambu County have been told to ensure the 23,075 workers to be recruited for phase two of the programme are deserving cases and not their relatives.
Addressing national government heads of department, Kiambu County Commissioner Mr.Wilson Wanyanga warned that the programme was not a job-creation opportunity for the well-off in society but that it was only meant for vulnerable people whose livelihoods had been wiped out by Covid-19 outbreak.
“This is a social protection program for the poor and vulnerable to cushion them from the effects of Covid-19 pandemic so that people don’t starve. The Government cannot allow her people to die of hunger especially after most of them lost their jobs as a result of Health protocols imposed in all sectors purposely to curb the spread of the pandemic after the disease was reported in the country in March this year,” Mr. Wanyanga said.
He further clarified that after the recruitment, the administrators must display the list of those who have been shortlisted on their notice boards so that the names of the beneficiaries can be verified by everyone to avert complaints.
Wanyanga said that there should be transparency and accountability in the entire exercise so that no genuine vulnerable individual is denied an opportunity.
The administrator further noted that in case there were some desperate women who needed consideration for the sake of their children they should be given priority so that they can be able to provide food for their children.
The County Commissioner reiterated that the program is a brainchild of the President through which he intended to cushion the vulnerable in the communities across the country and that nobody was going to be allowed to contravene the requirements of the beneficiaries by giving their relatives and their friends priority at the expense of the people meant to be cushioned.
He said Kiambu County was second to Nairobi in the number of workers owing to the high population as per the 2019 National Population Census and also considering the number of informal settlements in the area. It has 68 informal settlements spread out in the 12 sub-counties where the 23,075 recruits shall work.
Mr. Wanyanga noted that in an effort to ensure that the program cushioned more people, those who are scheduled to begin on Monday 13th will work for 11 days and then take a break to give an opportunity to another group to work for another 11 days. They will also be paid Sh445 and not 600 shillings which was paid to those in phase one.
He told the meeting that the President was happy with the performance of those who participated in the first phase of the Kazi Mtaani Program after carrying out a thorough job that prompted the Government to roll out the second phase, now taking place in the 47 counties.
The first phase which was piloted in eight Counties will be used as a yardstick to measure the performance of those who will be recruited in the second phase.
Phase one of the NHP was carried out in Kabete, Kikuyu, Kiambaa and Thika sub-counties in which 2300 youths were paid a total of Sh30 million.
In Phase 2, some 23,075 are expected to work in the program which will be carried out in the 12 sub-counties of Kiambu and will be supervised by 769 supervisors. A total of 282,617 workers will participate in the ongoing second phase of the program which involves bush clearing, drainage unclogging and unblocking, clearing access paths, garbage collection and fumigation.
The CC particularly singled out construction of two toilets in Kabete and Kikuyu sub-counties as special, adding the programme had engaged in work that impacted on the people which will be remembered by generations to come. He mentioned Kanjeru stadium in Kabete where the workers also planted grass and trees to reclaim it thus beautifying the facility.
Kiambu was one of the eight counties in which the NHP was piloted in May. Others are Nairobi, Kisumu, Nakuru, Mombasa, Kwale, Kilifi and Mandera.
By Lydia Shiloya
