Kenyans affected by drought to receive cash on monthly basis as government scraps relief food programme

NAKURU,Kenya, Aug 14 – In a bid to ensure that Kenyans ultimately benefit from a government programme targeting those affected by the ongoing drought, the distribution of relief food programme has been scrapped.

In turn, the government has now instituted a monthly cash transfer programme.

According to Devolution Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa, distribution of food aid was, “tedious and ineffective and faced several challenges compared to the cash transfer model”

At least two million Kenyans have been affected by the ongoing drought with the number expected to increase in the coming months due to rainfall shortage in various parts of the country.

“We have decided to move away from distribution of food relief and we shall instead focus on cash transfer and the Cabinet has formed a multi-agency team to address this,” said Wamalwa.

10 counties have so far been identified as being in the ‘red zone’ of the ongoing drought.

The government is expected to release cash through the Relief Assistance Management Information System (RAMIS).

“Currently we have over 2m people that have been affected by drought mainly in Arid and Semi-Arid regions and we are working with the affected counties to support them,” he said.

Beneficiaries of the first phase of the programme including Wajir, Mandera, Turkana, Marsabit  and counties under the Hunger Safety Net Programme (HSNP) are expected to receive their money by monday next week.

Already Sh558 million has been sent to Equity Bank by the government to ensure the programme is s success.

Counties under the Hunger Safety Net Programme (HSNP) have since been increased from four to eight.

“The government will in a couple of weeks release Sh2B under the national drought emergency fund to support the ongoing interventions,” he said.

Under the RAMIS programme families are expected to receive Sh4,000 on a  monthly basis.

The devolution ministry is working with the World Food Programme and National drought management authority by harmonizing their data in order to avoid cases of double allocation