The government is rolling out a new payment model for the Inua Jamii elderly cash transfer program to enhance efficiency.
The new model is through banking, as the current card-based system is being phased out.
The model involves the opening of bank accounts for the beneficiaries with their preferred banking institutions before February 10, 2019 deadline.
The current beneficiaries under the Inua Jamii cash transfer programs are the orphans and vulnerable children (CT-OVC), older persons cash transfer (OPTC) and persons with severe disabilities (PWSD).
Speaking at Menengai Social Hall in Nakuru East during mobilization forum for the elderly persons, Mary Kirugumi from the Social Development in Nakuru said no new beneficiaries will be registered.
“Under this program the activity that we are doing is migration of all the beneficiaries from the old payment model to the new one where each individual will have a personal bank account,” said Kirugumi.
Under the new payment system, beneficiaries will be able to receive their payment directly to their bank accounts and can withdraw at any time even through bank agents at the grassroot level.
“The new thing about the new payment system is that the beneficiaries will have several withdrawal options including agents at the grass root level” she said.
In order to have the right records of the beneficiaries, committees have been formed that will help serve as a linkage between the ministry’s departments and the beneficiaries.
The committees will be able to provide crucial information concerning the beneficiaries at the grass roots level.
“The main objective is to provide a link between the ministry and the beneficiaries at grass roots level,” she added.
The four contracted banks by the government under the program are Equity, KCB, Cooperative and Post Bank.
The mobilizing teams that comprise of officials from the payment service providers contracted banks and those from the Ministry of Labor and Social protection are tasked with the responsibility of ensuring that the target beneficiaries have no prior Inua Jamii accounts.
The exercise which aims at making the cash transfer stipends through banks and mobile money will also clean up any malpractices in the program.
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