By Reuben Olita
Six elderly persons from Kiriko village, Kokare location in Teso North Sub County, have appealed to the National Government to include them as among the recipients of the Inua Jamii programme to enable them fend for their lives.
Speaking on their behalf, Mzee Ronald Ajelo Ikaboto, aged 73 years, said they registered for the programme in March 2022 but so far they have not started receiving monthly stipends, thus prompting them to go public.
“Other elderly persons are receiving their monthly payments save for us; we are appealing to our beloved President Dr William Ruto to intervene and have omitted senior citizens start receiving their payments with the urgency it deserves,” he said.
He added; ” I am taking care of six grandchildren without support from any source. These children need to eat, cloth, and go to school; who will come to my rescue to avert an impending catastrophe?”
Mzee Ronald Ikaboto, aged 73 years. Photo: Reuben Olita
Mzee Ikaboto said he applied for 2023 education bursary but failed to get, sending a passion plea to Teso North MP Hon Oku Kaunya and Malaba South Member of the County Assembly Hon Boniface Ekada Mamai to give priority to elderly persons who are living with dependants.
Other elders who are yet to receive payments include Medhack Alem, Omuse Odek, Elizabeth Anyokorit, Elizabeth aka Obege, and Getruda Amentono.
Kenya government has spent Ksh156 billion in cash transfer to the elderly citizens across the country in the last eight years.The
funds have benefited over 800,000 senior citizens aged 70 years and above who were registered under the Inua Jamii initiative back in 2013.
The government has allluded that an additional Ksh7.2 b is required to accommodate 402,000 unregistered senior citizens who have since attained the requisite age of 70 years and above.
Inua Jamii initiative has realized tremendous economic transformation in the lives of the beneficiaries, including prolonging their lives, making them credit-worthy, giving them dignity among their communities in addition to the multiplying effect on the local economies.
Apart from the elderly citizens, orphans and those with severe disabilities were also benefiting from the cash transfer, where a total of 1.3 million beneficiaries in the three categories have so far been registered.
Inua Jamii has cited unregistered phone numbers and lack of identification cards among some of the beneficiaries as some of the major challenges afflicting the initiative.
Inua Jamii is one of the initiatives under the World Bank funded Kenya Social Economic Inclusion Project (KSEIP), which aims at strengthening social protection delivery systems in the country.
