Two United States government officials visited Kisumu County on Thursday, August 10, with the aim of studying how locals in impoverished communities utilize free cash offered through a basic income programme.
The programme, launched by GiveDirectly, a nonprofit organization operating in East Africa, provides a monthly stipend to people living in poverty. The unconditional cash transfers are made via mobile phone applications.
So far, the programme runs in 295 rural villages in the Western and Rift Valley regions and is divided into four groups; the Long-term basic income, which consists of 4,966 people who receive Ksh3,231 a month for 12 years and the short-term basic income through which 7,333 people receive Ksh3,231 a month for two years.
In the Lump sum group, 8,548 people receive Ksh3,231 per month after two years rather and the Control group who do not receive cash as they serve as a comparison group, benefitting from the other beneficiaries.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly Mitchell and state Assembly member from San Francisco, Matt Haney, who toured various towns in Kisumu County, said that the model would help them analyse how it benefitted the residents and guide them in aiding the less fortunate in California.
According to a report by the Public Policy Institute of California, 28.7 per cent of California residents are living in or near poverty. Further, the report revealed that 3.9 million risked falling into poverty in the current year.
“People using these programmes back home are using them to make investments in education or work certification or to pay off debt. Here, that same sentiment means they can buy three goats or build a home,” Haney said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times on Thursday, August 10.
She said that the cash programs could be improved to better the lives of the residents in California.
“Cash performs better than some of the other critical services that we in government prioritize. We create this cliff effect: if people do what we ask them to do like go to school or get the raise, then we drop them from the social safety net,” Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly Mitchell explained.
“My dream is for us to rethink the way we administer these programmes and create a culture shift and cut some of the red tape," she added.
Michael Tubbs, an adviser to California Governor Gavin Newsom, who was part of the delegates, urged the US government to do more in uplifting its residents from poverty.
“Poverty is not a reflection of intellect or aptitude or potential, it’s really a failure on a policy and systems level," Tubbs advised the White House.
“Coming to another continent to get perspective was important because it really elevates the issue to a global human rights one and also reminds us that we’re not alone and we don’t have to have all the answers to try," he added.
According to the 2021 Poverty Report by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), one in every 17 Kenyans lives in abject poverty, with about 30 per cent of citizens unable to meet their basic needs in
The report showed that Kenyans living in rural areas were the most affected, with one in 13 persons living in extreme poverty while one in 66 Kenyans live below the poverty line in the urban areas.
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