Joseph Motari
An average of 100,000 beneficiaries of the Social Protection Inua Jamii program risk missing out on cash if they fail to register to receive the funds via mobile money transfer, Mpesa, the Principal Secretary State Department for Social Protection and Senior Citizen Affairs Joseph Motari has said.
The PS spoke while announcing the release of over KSh2 billion for January payment to beneficiaries enrolled in the government’s cash transfer program and another KSh5.9 million for a complimentary nutrition improvement arrangement.
PS Mutari said that following a presidential directive late last year that the beneficiaries would be receiving their stipends through Mpesa rather than through select banks, all beneficiaries or their caregivers needed to register for Mpesa payment by dialing *222# from their Mpesa registered lines.
He expressed concern about the 100,000 people who have not yet switched from bank to mobile money transfer, saying they could miss their money if they don’t do so by the end of February 2024.
“The Ministry of Labour and Social Protection released KSh2,089,844,000 for January payment to beneficiaries enrolled in the Inua Jamii Programme and a further KSh5,930,000 for Nutrition Improvement through Cash and Health Education (NICHE), which is a complimentary program,” PS Mutari told a news conference today.
“Following a presidential directive, Inua Jamii beneficiaries will be receiving their stipends through Mpesa. This will start with caregivers of orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs) and persons with severe disabilities (PWSD). So far, 207,000 have enrolled for the Mpesa payment and have received their December payment. However, we note that there are around 100,000 who have not enrolled through *222#. The caregivers must register to continue receiving their Inua Jamii stipends,” explained PS Motari.
He added that the lot will be paid through a bank account for the last time and that there is only this month to enroll for Mpesa payments, warning that those who have not shifted to Mpesa could miss out because they remained non-compliant.
