Nairobi, Kenya,April 14- CS Florence Bore grilled over Inua Jamii cash transfer programmesย
CS Florence Bore on April 13, 2023 appeared before the National Assembly’s Committee on Social Protection to respond to questions and statements raised by Members of Parliament on the floor of the House.
The meeting was attended by the Member of Parliament for Embakasi Central Hon. Benjamin Gathiru, who asked the Cabinet Secretary to provide the committee with the status of the Inua Jamii programme with details of the current beneficiaries and those who have exited the programme.
Update on The Inua Jamii 2023 Payment
In her response, CS Florence Bore revealed that the Inua Jamii programme has enrolled a total of 1,233,129 beneficiaries across the three cash transfer programmes in all the 47 counties; 353 orphans, 47,000 persons living with disabilities, and 833,129 elderly persons.
Readย Inua Jamii Cash Transfers to be Disbursed Promptly as From June 1,2023
Out of the number quoted, 110,514 have exited the programme through death and graduation for the orphans and vulnerable children.
CS Bore also acknowledged that the ministry has not done a census to determine the number of beneficiaries who qualify to be enrolled in the program across the country, for a number of years, owing to budgetary constraints.
She went ahead to explain that the government is only able to support 2 million Kenyans, while 18 million are left out. However, in the next two years, they plan to enroll at least 2.5 million more beneficiaries, but this may require donor support to succeed.
The Members also sought clarifications on the strategies the ministry has put in place to ensure timely replacement of beneficiaries of Inua Jamii programme, to include those who have attained the age of 70 years, orphans, those with disabilities, and the vulnerable who qualify for such programs.
They questioned why many elderly persons over 70 years have been left out of the program and expressed concerns over what they referred to as abuse of the program by Chiefs and Fund officers who register those who do not qualify.
CS Florence Bore responded that the ministry has been receiving complaints of abuse of office by chiefs and fund officers from Sub-county levels.
They are working on training their officers and have told them that they want them to work with Members of Parliament.
This will help them distribute the resources they have fairly. She assured the Committee that this will be done.
Hon. Kassim Tandaza (Matuga) asked the Cabinet Secretary to provide a list of all beneficiaries under persons with severe disabilities who are enrolled in the Cash Transfer Programme in each Sub-Location in Matuga and Shimba Hills Sub-Counties.
The CS in her response undertook to provide the Member with records of the same but in strict conformity to the Data Protection Act, 2019.
Hon. Abdulrahman Abdi (Lafey) also requested the status report and a list from the ministry on those who benefit from the programme in Lafey Constituency and the exact amount they receive.
The CS Bore told the lawmakers that the Inua Jamii programme has enrolled a total of 2,813 beneficiaries in Lafey Constituency spread across the orphaned, the disabled, vulnerable children, and the elderly.
She noted that each beneficiary is entitled to Ksh. 2,000 per month paid to respective accounts.
The committee members also questioned the Cabinet Secretary on the delays in disbursement of cash transfers to beneficiaries under the Inua Jamii program, stating the plans the ministry has put in place to ensure timely disbursement of the funds.
In her response, CS Florence Bore said that they are doing an establishment of a Social Assistance Fund Bill for consideration in Parliament. It will be open to donations and related support.
As at today, the program has a shortfall of 10 Billion. She requested the Committee to fast-track the bill so they can try to bridge the deficit gap.
The sitting was chaired by Vice-chair Hon. Hillary Kosgey
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