A section of elderly persons from Nyamira County on Tuesday took issue with the manner in which government officials in the area were handling the cash transfer programme for elderly persons.
They claimed the officials were discriminating against needy persons only to unfairly include their friends and relatives in the programme despite not meeting the qualifications.
The elders who were led by Joseph Kerongo, 83 and Sam Orengo, 81, told the press in Nyamira town that the programme was only benefiting a few individuals while several needy persons were languishing in poverty.
The Elderly Cash Transfer Programme was started by the government a few years ago to help supplement the needs of seniors citizens who had no means of income. They are given Sh2,000 per month.
But the Nyamira elders said the programme had lost its meaning since majority of the people benefitting from the monthly handouts were those irregularly selected by the chiefs.
Kerongo appealed to the government to move in and streamline the criteria for determining the beneficiaries to avoid malpractices where non-deserving cases were paid.
On her part, County director for Gender and Social Services Alice Oyioka denied that there was any discrimination in the exercise, noting that that the issue was lack of enough funds to cater for the rising number of elderly persons in the area.
She said due to the scarcity of funds, the department was currently selecting the most vulnerable cases such as those aged 90 and above, before reaching out to other senior citizens.
Oyioka said most of those aged around 65 were left out since it was held that they could earn a living as casual labourers.
She, however, said already, the department had appealed for more funds from the Treasury to help cater for all the aged and vulnerable persons in the country.
The social development officer said when the programme started, it was difficult to locate the vulnerable cases since available statistics were scanty.
She added that over time, all the needy cases were mapped out and it was now practicable to apply for the exact amount of money to cater for all needy persons.