In response to a false story titled “Retirees Bear Brunt of Ruto MPESA Rule” that appeared on February 24, the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection has provided clarification on Inua Jamii disbursement via mobile money.
“The article claimed that retirees were being locked out of the Inua Jamii program because of a directive requiring all disbursements to be processed through mobile wallets,” the ministry said in a news release on February 24.
According to Joseph Motari, Principal Secretary for the State Department of Social Protection, “the article claimed that retirees have been locked out of the Inua Jamii program due to a directive requiring all disbursements to be processed through mobile wallets.”
The ministry stated that the plan is a government-led cash transfer effort that gives financial aid to those aged 70 years and above who are not beneficiaries of any government pension scheme and must have a Kenyan ID.
Other recipients include eligible households with orphans, vulnerable children, and households caring for persons with impairments.
According to Motari, M-PESA has been chosen by the government as the main way to distribute program monies in order to increase security, accessibility, and efficiency.
In order to activate their M-PESA accounts, beneficiaries are encouraged to register their SIM cards.
Beneficiaries are urged to register at an M-PESA agent or Safaricom location if they do not currently have an active M-PESA line. As stated in the article, this removes the necessity for recipients to travel great distances in order to register for a SIM card,” the ministry continued.
According to the ministry, recipients of the previous bank payment system had to travel to bank offices and agents, which was costly and inconvenient.
“The transition to mobile wallet disbursement greatly improves service delivery by ensuring that beneficiaries can easily access their funds from the comfort of their homes or the closest M-PESA agent,” the ministry continued.
On February 13, Labour CS Alfred Mutua said that Ksh 1.7 million households received Ksh 3.5 billion from the government as part of the Inua Jamii Program.
All recipients who have a valid identification number, whether it is seven or eight digits, are entitled to register telephone lines in order to receive the stipend, according to the ministry.
