108,199 slum dwellers picked for bi-weekly State stipend

The Ministry of Labour has identified 108,199 individuals in informal settlements that will receive Sh2,000 every two weeks to shield them from the adverse effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

The beneficiaries, picked from Nairobi, Mombasa, Kilifi and Kwale, include the chronically sick, mama mbogas, street families and casual labourers rendered jobless by movement restrictions in the four counties.

The 108,199 form part of the pilot phase of the project that has been allocated Sh1.3 billion and will run for three months.

“The results from this pilot strategy will be instrumental in informing the approach to use in up-scaling to the rest of the country,” Social Protection principal secretary Nelson Marwa told Parliament.

Kwale has the highest number of beneficiaries at 48,627, followed by Kilifi’s 33,817 and Nairobi’s 20,396.

Mombasa has the fewest beneficiaries at 5,359.

“Mombasa numbers are low because the data was picked before coronavirus cases spiked there,” said Mr Marwa.

He said the majority of the casual labourers in Mombasa are actually residents of Kwale working at the Export Processing Zone.

President Uhuru Kenyatta restricted movement in and out of the Nairobi Metropolitan Area, Kilifi, Kwale, Mombasa and Mandera as part of measures meant to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

This and a dust-dawn curfew have cut income sources especially for casual labourers in various industries, food vendors, and hawkers.

The Treasury allocated, through Supplementary II, an additional Sh10 billion to cushion the elderly, orphans and other vulnerable groups.

Mr Marwa said the government had adopted a multi-agency approach, involving the ministries of Interior, Health and Labour and Social Protection, in identifying the vulnerable groups.