State cash scheme for the poor under scrutiny

Economists have punched holes in a government plan to start a social welfare scheme for the poor, saying there were no measures in place to stop corruption in the disbursement of the monthly allowances.

Plans to disburse Sh1,500 every month to about 200,000 poor families will be tabled and debated by the cabinet in its next sitting following recommendations by a government task force formed in February to find the means of managing a food subsidy scheme for the poor.

The task force, under the office of the Prime Minister, recommended that Treasury allocates an initial Sh600 million for an eight-month pilot project to disburse Sh1,500 to 100,000 poor families living in Nairobi’s low income settlements of Mathare, Korogocho, Mukuru and Kibera slums.

Cash diversion

The government will then expand the programme to cover another 100,000 poor families in Kisumu and Mombasa next year.

“To give the poor cash instead of food is a good idea because it will give the beneficiaries some freedom to use the money to meet varied demands. Some people may not like to get maize flour every month, they may want to vary their menus,” says Prof Joseph Kieyah, an economist with the Kenya Institute for Public Policy and Analysis (Kippra).

But questions are now emerging over the successful management of the programme without safeguards to stop the money being diverted to the pockets of the rich.

“Who will manage this programme and how will they stop politicians from manipulating it by drawing their own list of the alleged poor families. Politicians can hijack this noble programme,” says Dr Tabitha Kiriti-Ng’ang’a, an economist and a lecturer at the University of Nairobi.

The new social welfare scheme to be known as Saidia Jamii could be Kenya’s first ever cash -based goodwill programme to assist the poor in Kenya.

Other programmes already being run by the government include the distribution of low cost maize flour in the low income settlements across Nairobi.

But even this programme is almost running into difficulties with revelations by the National Cereals and Produce Board that its stocks are dwindling.

The board has only 2.5 million bags of grains in its stores against 32 million bags required every year.

According to the government, there are about 10 million people who are food insecure and about Sh26 million is needed urgently to feed 3.8 million people classified as the most vulnerable.

It is because of this that the government taskforce has recommended that Sh600 million be immediately made available to allow for the Sh1,500 disbursement for every poor family in Nairobi in the test project that is planned to start in November.

The money—an economic lifeline for the poor— could also prevent hundreds of the targeted families from slipping into poverty as the economic contraction makes life harder for most people.