The government has proposed the expansion of the Inua Jamii monthly cash payments to former councillors who served for less than 20 years in government.
According to the Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi, the Ksh200,000 honorarium for councillors who served less than 20 years in government is no longer legally possible, thus making Inua Jamii a perfect alternative.
An honourarium is a one-time payment made to an individual as an appreciation for the services they provided, especially when the services they offered were not part of the individual's official duties.
If the proposal goes through, it means that the ex-councillors will be receiving Ksh2,000 monthly cash payments from the programme which supports vulnerable groups, including the elderly, orphans, and those with disabilities.
According to Mbadi, who appeared before the Senate Committee on Labour and Social Welfare on Wednesday, August 20, there is currently no legal framework to compensate the former 328 councillors.
Speaking in March, Mbadi claimed that even though the senate had resolved to have the councillors paid in October 2018, which was supported by recommendations from the Inter-agency Taskforce, the Treasury cannot make the payments due to legal constraints.
“The delay in implementing the Senate resolution of 18th October 2018 and the recommendations of the Inter-Agency Task Force on the payment of honoraria and pensions to former councillors has been primarily due to legal constraints,” Mbadi said.
“The Attorney General, in a legal opinion dated May 8, 2023, advised that there was no legal basis to support the proposed one-off honoraria payment of SH200,000 to former councillors who served for less than 20 years,” he added.
The announcement comes a week after the Ministry of Labour announced the release of KSh4.6 billion for the payment of Inua Jamii beneficiaries for the months June and July.
In a statement on Thursday, August 7, the Social Services and Senior Citizen Affairs Principal Secretary, Joseph Motari, claimed that the beneficiaries would receive Ksh4,000 after they had gone unpaid in June.
Motari urged the over one million beneficiaries of the programme and their caretakers to ensure that they collect the funds.
"The Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, through the State Department for Social Protection and Senior Citizen Affairs, has released Ksh. Four Billion, Six Hundred and Seven Million, Six Hundred and Sixty-Eight Thousand (4,607,668,000) for payment to 1,151,917 Older Persons and Persons Living With Severe Disabilities enrolled in the Inua Jamii Program," Motari stated.
