Cash for elderly to be paid to beneficiaries' bank accounts

Labour and Social Protection Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani.

About 710,000 senior citizens who are beneficiaries of a State-sponsored social welfare initiative will now get their monthly stipend through their bank accounts.

Labour and Social Protection Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani said last week that the old card system had been scrapped.

“The new programme promises flexibility for the beneficiaries on the choice of banks from a range of four institutions - Cooperative, Equity, Kenya Commercial Bank and Post Bank of Kenya,” said Yatani in Nairobi.

The Government, he said, had allocated close to Sh30 billion this financial year under the cash transfer programme where about 1.3 million beneficiaries will benefit.  

“It may be noted that since inception in 2004 to date, the Government has spent a total of Sh125.7 billion, with a significant increase between 2013 to date,” said the CS. Yatani said the new system, whose sensitisation began on Wednesday, would be rolled out after its launch in Kajiado tomorrow.