Take care of the elderly and vulnerable through viable social protection

The government should guard the kitty from selfish officers who have registered proxies to receive the money on their behalf. [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

Times are hard for majority of Kenyans and it must be harder for the elderly and most vulnerable families. Most poor families can hardly put a decent meal on the table. Therefore, last Wednesday's release of some Sh8.5 billion for the social protection programme 'Inua Jamii' is a huge relief for the more than one million beneficiaries.

Reeling from economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic that annihilated many businesses, the harsh effects of climate change that have killed food harvests for nearly four seasons and the resultant economic slow-down of the war in Ukraine, majority of the elderly persons have been hard it. After their children and sponsors lost jobs or income generating ventures, many of those aged 70 and above will rely heavily on the Inua Jamii programme.

The opposition is right in demanding more funds to the programme and doubling the Sh2,000 monthly stipend to each senior citizen. High food prices and the rising cost of living mean the Sh2,000 allocation won't be enough to support them.

National Assembly Minority Leader Opiyo Wandayi has rightly urged the government to double the fund and register all needy persons. And while at it, the government should guard the kitty from selfish officers who have registered proxies to receive the money on their behalf. Indeed, there are cases where rogue chief and assistant chiefs have denied eligible senior citizens their allocations.

To seal such loopholes across the country, we urge the Labour and Social protection ministry to scale up vigilance and identify more potential beneficiaries. This is because there are many elderly Kenyans unaware of such a fund, but are really in need. Those who get the allocations not only use the money to buy food, but also get medicine out of it.

We also urge the government to release the monies on a regular basis, seeing that the latest disbursement was done after a long delay of four months. Some senior citizens find themselves in poverty after having served their country faithfully. It is only logical for the authorities to take care of them at their time of need.

At the same time, we urge non-state actors to support the social protection programme either financially or materially. There are organisations willing to work with the government to take care of vulnerable families, but may be hindered by strenuous processes and so-called red tape. The ministry should ease the process and work with as many such organisations as possible.

Still, there are organisations already working with the most vulnerable households in most remote regions that the government can use their expertise to reach more beneficiaries. For instance, there are elderly Kenyans who cannot access government services leave alone the Inua Jamii programme.

Most importantly, we call on the government to streamline the disbursement of the funds and weed out cartels that have over the years stolen from the elderly. There are reports of clerks messing around with registers to sneak in names of their proxies. Let those culpable be prosecuted without fear or favour.