MOMANYI: Inua Jamii impacting the elderlies life in Kenya

One of the key areas that the Jubilee administration has excelled is in rolling out the national social protection programmes that cushion the elderly, orphans, the disabled and residents of northern Kenya against poverty and the drought.

The programme has been intensified and recently President Uhuru Kenyatta revealed plans to extend the monthly stipends to all Kenyans above the age of 70 from next year.

Despite the government inviting Nasa leader Raila Odinga to also enroll for the Inua Jamii programme and serve as its ambassador – alongside former Presidents Moi and Kibaki and former Vice President Moody Awori – the initiative is been opposed by the Opposition.

Recently, Raila’s running mate Kalonzo Musyoka opposed the ongoing registration of elderly persons ahead of its roll out, claiming their IDs were being taken away as part of a plan to rig elections.

He instead pledged that Nasa will pay the elderly Sh3,000 per month once it takes power after the August 8 General Election.

Under the current programme, elderly people aged 65 and above who are needy and not pensionable are entitled to a monthly stipend of Sh2,000 from the Government. The age limit will rise to 70 from next year.

 What Nasa is forgetting is that the cash transfer programme under the National Safety Net Programme (NSNP) did not start yesterday. In fact, it was started under the Grand Coalition Government but until President Uhuru came to power, it was largely mismanaged with only a few benefiting.

What President Uhuru has done is to remodel it as Inua Jamii and upscale it in 2014 with the aim of ensuring a more effective safety net for progressive groups in the country.

As a result, more than 830,000 poor Kenyans have received money from the programme.

 As the government has previously noted, the goal is to ensure that all Kenyans live in dignity and are able to exploit their human capabilities for their own social and economic well-being. Investing in social assistance improves the livelihoods of beneficiaries and in turn contributes to national development.

The report notes that the programme has positively impacted the lives of many vulnerable households across the country by providing them with an effective safety net to enable them to maintain a decent living standard. However, the need to do more was never lost to the government.

The disabled, the elderly and orphans are vulnerable people in society yet they have for long largely been neglected by successive governments.

Unscrupulous people also took advantage of them by forming organisations to attract donor funds but they never went to the targeted groups.

The elderly have been among the most neglected of these groups. Due to changing societal patterns, they are mostly neglected by their sons who move to urban areas to earn a living and fend for their families and leave them wallowing in poverty in their rural homes.

Cases abound where they have been victims of abuse in the hands of their children or their spouses. Nothing saddens the heart more than a scene of an elderly parent begging for assistance from children they sacrificed so much for their education and general upbringing.

Through the Inua Jamii programme, they are now able to eat proper meals and take care of other needs. Some have even used the stipends to educate their grandchildren and hence securing their future. 

Under the upscaled programme, the elderly will, in addition to the monthly stipend, also benefit from a National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) cover. This is a game changer.

Access to proper medication has been one of the key challenges that the elderly have been grappling with.

The Inua Jamii programme is one of the government projects that has endeared President Uhuru to areas that were perceived as Opposition zones and is likely to win him many votes in the August 8 General Election. People appreciate when the government is concerned about their well-being.

When he visited Kisii in June, President Uhuru took the opportunity to sit down with Alfred Bosire Matundura and the wife at their home in Masimba. Their appreciation was beyond measure.

 Empowering elder citizens is at the heart of President Uhuru’s campaign to enable them continue meaningful contribution to the economy.

 In the last four years, the Jubilee government has spent Sh80.3 billion on the various social safety net programmes.

 Total spend on the programme stood at Sh19.8 billion in the 2016/17 financial year alone.

 As Social Protection PS Susan Mochache recently noted, the programme has been accepted as one of the best components in the fight against poverty.

 One of the aims of the Vision 2030 strategy is to reduce poverty through investing in vulnerable groups and recommends the establishment of a consolidated Social Protection Fund. Thus, the government is on the right track. 

 With all Kenyans above 70 years, including Raila, set to benefit from next year, things can only get better. No wonder Nasa is panicking.