Kenyans in the Arid and Semi-Arid areas are set to receive a stipend of Ksh3,000 per household and Ksh2,000 per individual beginning next month.
Following the government directive,369,000 vulnerable households and 734,119 individuals will receive the cash after every two months.
The counties set to receive cash transfers are Garissa, Isiolo, Lamu, Mandera, Marsabit.Tana River,Wajir and Turkana.
According to a statement by the public service, Youth and Gender Affairs Cabinet Secretary, Prof. Margaret Kobia, the shift in the policy is to promote efficiency and accountability.
“I am happy to report that, arising from today’s meeting, development partners have agreed to support government efforts to mobilize resources to address gaps in drought response and resilience building in Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs),” she stated.
The government has allocated about Ksh 350 million to the ministry of water and sanitation for water trucking whereas it has disbursed 500 million to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to cater for drought emergency response.
Prof Kobia also stated that all the intended recipients' details have been noted adding that those who have no cell phones will be assisted by their area chiefs. In addition, she stated that they will not distribute fresh purchases as of December and will only distribute what was already bought.
At the same time, she disclosed that the national government has disbursed over Ksh1.5 billion as part of the measures to support the affected households with food and other necessities.
“The government has provided Ksh1.2 billion for purchase and distribution of food to 2.5 million people in 23 Arid and Semi-Arid Land (ASAL) counties from October. It has also disbursed Sh450 million to Kenya Defence Forces for livestock off-take, purchase, and distribution of livestock feed,” she remarked.
According to the CS, the 12 counties receiving cash transfers are currently on the verge of advancing from alert to alarm following the effect of drought in the area.
Prof Kobia further stated that forecasts show that the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands will hardly experience rainfall, adding that 2.5 million people are likely to remain food insecure between November and December.
She also reiterated her call for urgent preemptive measures towards addressing the crisis adding that the government has identified priority needs in the key sectors which amount to Ksh7.3 billion.
“I assure the country that the government is focused and is firmly on the right trajectory towards winning the war against negative impacts of drought.”
