EDITORIAL: Streamline payment of cash for the elderly

Reports that the National Treasury has delayed the release of the Sh2,000 bi-monthly stipend for the elderly since September makes for depressing news.

While public institutions have become accustomed to delays in the release of budgeted cash, the National Treasury must not be allowed to make this anomaly the new normal for the 523,000 elderly people who are signed up for the scheme.

Official demographic data shows that older persons form the most destitute group in Kenya, with majority of them being trapped in poverty by low or zero incomes, deteriorating health and a disproportionately large number of dependants.

That alone should lay bare the travails of the senior citizens once assured of some regular pension-like incomes by the State.

While the stated official aim of the cash transfer is to reduce the impact of poverty by providing a stipend for basic needs of the elderly, various surveys have shown that instead of just spending the money on healthcare, food and personal effects, the elderly use the cash to pay school fees and to improve general welfare of their grandchildren and other dependents. Apart from its direct benefits to the elderly, the cash transfer has also helped to stimulate demand for local goods and services as people, who would otherwise not have any income, spend the money in the immediate community.

That is why the consequence of any delay in releasing the cash can only be dire, and, therefore, the National Treasury must release the cash to the elderly without further delay.

Lest we forget, the payout exists within the national social protection policy passed by the State in 2011 with the aim of shielding poor and vulnerable groups from economic, social, and natural shocks.

It was from this policy that senior citizens were also promised free National Hospital Insurance Fund outpatient cover, a promise equally held back by the delay in releasing cash for monthly premiums.

As a starting point, the Treasury ought to get the transfer programme right. Public officials should not be allowed to ruin it or inconvenience the intended beneficiaries with delays that are avoidable.