All posts by Winnie Mburu

The Government of Kenya continues to put a heavy premium on addressing the plight of the needy and vulnerable populations in our country through mounting of various safety net interventions to cushion citizens from extreme poverty.

As part of these measures, the Ministry of Public Service, Gender, Senior Citizen Affairs and Special Programmes has disbursed funds for three critical programmes targeting the vulnerable groups as follows:

Programme	No. of beneficiaries	Total Amount (Kshs.)
Inua Jamii	1,067,805	8,542,440,000
NICHE	339,151	13,045,000
Presidential Secondary School Bursary	22,000	400,000,000
Total	1,123,716	8,955,485,000

1. INUA JAMII PROGRAMME

TheMinistry of Public Service, Gender, Senior Citizen Affairs and Special Programmes has released Kenya Shillings Eight Billion, Five Hundred and Forty-Two Million, Four Hundred and Forty Thousand (Kshs. 8,542,440,000) for payment to beneficiaries enrolled in the Inua Jamii programme.

Inua Jamii programme is a Government cash transfer programme that supports the most vulnerable members of the community by providing them with a stipend to cushion them from poverty, hunger and with the aim of improving their lives.

The programme targets

1. Orphans and Vulnerable Children;
2. Older Persons; and
3. Persons with Severe Disabilities.

These beneficiaries have already been enrolled into the program and their accounts have been successfully submitted to the Consolidated Cash Transfer Management Information System.

2. NUTRITION IMPROVEMENTS THROUGH CASH AND HEALTH EDUCATION (NICHE)

The Ministry of Public Service, Gender, Senior Citizen Affairs and Special Programmes has released Kenya Shillings Thirteen Million and Forty-Five Thousand (Kshs. 13,045,000) as top up payment to 339,151 NICHE Complementary Program beneficiaries.

The Nutrition Improvements through Cash and Health Education (NICHE) is a Government of Kenya project that aims at investing in the scale-up of the existing nutrition-sensitive safety nets, and testing customised economic inclusion models – as a complement to the regular cash transfers.

The NICHE Programme targets households with children under two years of age and Pregnant or Lactating mothers who are already enrolled in the Inua Jamii Programme.

The 339,151 households will benefit from the top up of the NICHE payment depending on the number of children enrolled in the (NICHE) complementary programme in Kitui, Kilifi, Marsabit, Turkana and West Pokot counties.

PAYMENT STATUS

The funds have been credited to the accounts of 1,067,805 Inua Jamii beneficiaries with payment expected to start on January 18, 2022. The Government is making this payment through the six contracted banks namely: Cooperative Bank, Equity Bank, Kenya Commercial Bank, Post Bank, Kenya Women Finance Trust and National Bank.

Beneficiaries will receive Kshs. 8,000 being payment for months of July, August, September and October 2021.

Beneficiaries or caregivers can access all or part of this payment at any time over a six months period. Therefore, beneficiaries are advised that the funds will remain in their accounts for a period of SIX months hence there is no need for all of them to rush to the banks to collect the money at the same time. This will avoid crowding at the payment points.

Payment modalities for the funds have been agreed between the Ministry and the paying banks to ensure the Ministry of Health guidelines on containment of COVID-19 are strictly followed while paying beneficiaries. These guidelines include:

1. Utilisation of their mobile banking platforms to prevent crowding of beneficiaries at the payment points;
2. Ensure social distancing by staggering payments;
3. Provision of handwashing facilities, sanitisers and masks for the beneficiaries during the payment; and
4. Ensure that all biometric devices are cleaned and regularly sanitised.

The Ministry has adopted a multi-agency approach in the payment process involving the Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government, County Governments, Ministry of Health, elected leaders and Ministries’ field staff to ensure seamless coordination.

3. PRESIDENTIAL SECONDARY SCHOOL BURSARY PROGRAMME

The Government has released Kenya Shillings Four Hundred Million (Kshs 400,000,000) to vulnerable students under the Presidential Bursary Programme.

The Presidential Secondary School Bursary for the orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) is a flagship project under vision 2030 that was started in 2013 as a complementary programme for orphans and vulnerable children cash transfer programme (OVC-CT).

The aim of the bursary scheme is to enhance secondary school access, enrolment, attendance and completion by OVCs in Kenya.

Disbursement of this fund is constituency-based with all constituencies getting an equal allocation of Kshs. 1.3 Million.

In the 2021/2022 Financial Year, 22,000 students in public boarding schools will have their fees paid to a maximum of Kshs. 30,000 per student.

For further information please email ps@socialprotection.go.ke

Prof. Margaret Kobia, PhD, EGH

CABINET SECRETARY

1. The Government through a multi-sectoral approach is coordinating National disaster drought interventions that include: relief food distribution; livestock off-take; water trucking; digging and repair of boreholes to cushion and improve the livelihoods of the over 2.5 Million Kenyans affected from the 23 ASAL Counties.
2. In the Month of October and November, Government has distributed (89,460) bags of rice, (48,960) bags of beans, and purchased over 8,000 heads of cattle from farmers for the on-going commercial livestock offtake programme.
3. The current outlook from National Drought and Management Authority (NDMA) and the Kenya Meteorological Department indicate that the drought situation is expected to persist.
4. Yesterday, the Cabinet Secretary of Defense and Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Public Service, Gender, Senior Citizens Affairs and Special Programmes witnessed the signing of project agreement between Kenya Meat Commission and Kenya Red Cross Society for implementation of a Ground Slaughter Programme.
5. The programme targeting the 23 ASAL Counties entails the purchase and slaughter of over 76,667 livestock considered weak, for distribution as relief food to over 766, 667 households.  
6. The Kenya Red Cross Society using its structures and network of community based volunteers will assist in registration of targeted families, timely payment of farmers and distribution of the relief meat. The programme is expected to; increase the purchasing power of the households in these communities and reduce resource-based conflict in the affected counties.
7. I am pleased to announce that we have this morning LAUNCHED THE EMERGENCY RELIEF CASH TRANSFER PROGRAM in fulfillment of the Government commitment to shift from food distribution to cash transfer. The cash transfer will be disbursed thought Safaricom Mpesa platform to the identified and registered beneficiaries in the 23 ASALs Counties.
8. The identification and registration of the affected persons was spearheaded by County Steering Groups under the leadership of the County Commissioners, Relief Committees, and the Kenya Red Cross Society. The identification considered: Households with Elderly persons, sick or disabled persons, malnourished children; Single parent or Child-headed households and not receiving any other form of assistance from other organizations. 
9. The first cohort of 360,696 households identified for the emergency relief cash transfer program will each receive Kshs 3,000, totaling to the payroll amount of Kshs. 1,082,088,000 (One Billion, Eighty-Two Million and Eighty-Eight Thousand Shillings Only) on monthly basis until the rain situation improves. 
10. Cash transfers have proven as the most effective way to reach vulnerable persons in times of emergency.  Benefits include:  receipt of assistance in real time; value for money as the beneficiary has choice of purchase; safeguards the dignity of beneficiaries; and stimulates local economy.
11.  In conclusion, I wish to commend Safaricom for waiving the transaction fees for this first cohort and their commitment to ensure the system will be efficient.
12. I wish to appreciate the implementing Ministries Departments and Agencies, including the National Treasury, Interior and Coordination, Defense, Information Communication and Technology, Water and Sanitation, and Agriculture among others.  I thank the Kenya Redcross Society for continuing to work with the Government in disaster management. 
13. Additionally, I thank our partners including the UN Agencies for supporting the Government to deliver on its commitments and our elected leaders from the Pastoralists Parliamentary Group Caucus (PPGC) for your continued collaboration with the Executive.

I Thank You.

https://nation.africa/kenya/gender/16-days-of-activism-ending-gbv-is-a-collective-responsibility-3630560

On the International Day for Elimination of Violence Against Women held on Wednesday 25th, the Cabinet Secretary, Prof. Margaret Kobia participated in a dialogue between co-leaders of the Action Coalition on GBV and girl-led and women’s rights organisations on the frontline of tackling GBV.

Within the #GenerationEquality Action Coalition on Gender Based Violence that Kenya is co-leading with United Kingdom, Uruguay, Iceland together with UN Women and other partners, recognizes the critical role and contribution of Women Rights Organization’s and Girl led organizations in attaining our goal for gender equality.

The Government of Kenya commits to the following:

i. Ensuring that women rights and girl-led organizations participate and contribute meaningfully in the Action Coalition initiatives, even as the blueprint for the Coalition is being developed. More importantly by ensuring their voices are heard when coming up with the policy priorities commitments for the Generation Equality Forum in June 2021;

ii. Ensuring that they are part of the Kenya’s leadership structure of the Action Coalition on Gender Based Violence as the country support mechanism to be launched soon at the National level;

iii. Working in partnership in our advocacy work so as to strengthen and to sustain efforts to prevent violence by addressing social norms for promoting gender equality for a transformative world;

iv. Support their efforts for resource mobilization in order to effectively complement the Governments initiatives on ending Gender Based Violence; and

v. Strengthen our linkages with other arms of Government and stakeholders to ensure that adolescent girls and young women are not exploited, are protected from harmful practices such as FGM and Child marriage and safely return and stay in school for the realization of their full potential in life.

Prof. Kobia reiterated the Action Coalition Joint Leadership Statement of 29th September 2020 on the commitment to work together to stop any reversal of hard-won progress on advancing gender equality and women’s and girls’ empowerment due to COVID -19 pandemic.

She noted that efforts to rebuild after the COVID-19 pandemic must have women and girl’s agency at their heart and tackle the longer- term strategy and root causes of GBV.

#16Days#OrangeTheWorld

Cabinet Secretary, Prof Margaret Kobia on Thursday 9th, July handed over food and non-food items to COVID-19 Response Committees in Meru and Tharaka Nithi Counties to cushion vulnerable households during this period.

Addressing residents while  accompanied by the respective county commissioners, Prof. Kobia noted that the impact of Covid-19 global pandemic is affecting every part of our society and a partnership approach is needed to respond to the emerging challenges.

She lauded partners from the County Government, the National Government, the private sector, and NGOs for providing donations to cushion the vulnerable households from the effects of COVID-19 pandemic.
The Cabinet Secretary commended Maendeleo ya Wanawake for providing the national network that will ensure the donations reach the most vulnerable women in our society.

“National Government has put in place various interventions to combat Covid-19 pandemic and the National Emergency Response Committee has been coordinating efforts to mitigate the pandemic together with other state and non-state actors,” said Prof. Kobia.

She appealed to the communities in FGM hotspot Counties to support H.E the President’s call to end FGM in Kenya by 2022. She urged for expedited prosecution of the perpetrators of GBV who continue to violate the rights of innocent girls and women.

On her part, Principal Secretary, Mrs. Mary Kimonye called on all public servants to continue discharging their mandate while strictly observing the laid down protocols on combating the Covid-19 global pandemic.
She said in the post-Covid paradigm, public service delivery is going digital which opens up opportunities for youth to serve.

Maendeleo ya Wanawake National Chairperson, Mrs. Rahab Mwikali challenged parents to pay keen attention to their responsibilities now that children are squarely under their care.

She called on religious leaders to teach right morals to repair the broken social moral fabric which has led to unprecedented teenage pregnancies.
Mwikali nostalgically recalled that Tharaka Nithi County was the first one to introduce alternative rite of passage to FGM in the 1990s. She challenged county leaders to upscale the rite and use it to achieve H.E the President’s commitment of End FGM by 2022.

The items handed over included kits, buckets, masks, bar soaps, lessos, rice, beans and fortified health foods. Donors included UNFPA, WEF, UWEZO Fund, Kenya Pipeline Company and Ministry of Devolution and ASALS.

The Cabinet Secretary also presided over the issuance of Affirmative Action Fund cheques from the Women Enterprise Fund worth Kshs.34.15 million to 135 women groups and Uwezo fund worth Kshs. 19.19 million to 238 groups in Meru County. In Tharaka Nithi County Women Enterprise Fund disbursed cheques worth Kshs. 11.45 million to 38 women groups and UWEZO Fund disbursed Ksh 5.9 million to 93 groups to cushion women businesses and their families during this time of the Covid-19 Pandemic

Other leaders present included Tharaka Nithi Governor, Muthomi Njuki, UNFPA Country Representative, Dr. Ademola Olajide, and Bishop Silas Mugambi among other local leaders.

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Cabinet Secretary, Prof. Margaret Kobia on Wednesday 8th officiated the handover of food and non-food items donated by various organizations to women leaders at the NYS Headquarters, Ruaraka.

The women leaders have been entrusted with the distribution of the items to the most vulnerable families across the country, with special focus on women.

In her remarks, Prof. Kobia lauded the women leaders for providing support to women and girls who are faced with a crisis during Covid-19 pandemic.

She noted that the Government has announced policy measures including the establishment of Covid-19 Economic Stimulus Programme which targets the vulnerable groups and called on women leaders to take action in order to cushion and protect women and girls at this time when they are most vulnerable.

“The caring role in society falls upon us as women and mothers. Women are the primary caregivers to communities and families in times of crisis,” said the Cabinet Secretary.

Prof. Kobia applauded H.E President Uhuru Kenyatta for directing action on  Gender Based Violence and the rising cases of teenage  pregnancies arguing that it will make the domestic space safer for all, including women and girls.

Also, read: NYS Launches Strategic Plan and Unveils Innovation Projects

Further the CS, indicated that the Ministry through the Affirmative Action Funds has fast tracked release of funds to cushion women enterprises since the month of March, whereby Ksh. 694 Million loans have been processed from the Women Enterprise Fund and the National Government Affirmative Action Fund.

The institutions who have given the donations flagged off today include: Kenya Pipeline Company, National Youth Service, UNFPA, Women Enterprise Fund and Uwezo Fund.

Among leaders present during the event were Chief Administrative Secretary Hon. Rachel Shebesh, Director General – National Youth Service, Matilda Sakwa, UN Women Representative, Anna Mutavati, Chairperson, NGAAF Prof. Wanjiku Kabira, Chairperson, WEF Ms. Njoki Kahiga and MP, Kandara Constituency Hon. Alice Wahome among other women leaders and partners.

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On Tuesday, the Cabinet Secretary, Prof. Margaret Kobia hosted her cabinet colleague for ICT, Innovation and Youth Affairs Mr. Joe Muhceru during the unveiling of the National Youth Service (NYS) innovations and launch of Strategic Plan 2019/2020-2023/2024 at the NYS Headquarters Ruaraka, Nairobi. 

In her remarks, Prof. Kobia congratulated the NYS leadership for their efforts in the realization of the Strategic Plan. 

She urged the Council and Management to ensure that the implementation of programmes is carried out in accordance to the strategic plan.

The Cabinet Secretary noted that the establishment of a commercial arm within the NYS, affords the Service the opportunity to engage in various enterprises as a source of revenue generation needed to enhance the sustainability of NYS programmes and projects.

Also, read on: Chief Administrative Secretary Inspects Ministry Programs and Disburses Affirmative Funds in Seven Counties

Prof. Kobia observed that the current challenges occasioned by the Covid-19 pandemic has seen NYS taking the frontline role in responding to the pandemic. 

Cabinet Secretary Joe Mucheru in his address lauded the NYS smart innovation of an electric tuk-tuk and handcart which he termed environmentally friendly. The innovations will provide a low-cost individualized transport alternative for SMEs and those who do not own private vehicles.

He said African economy depends on countries’ entrepreneurs being able to absorb and creatively adapt technological knowledge and innovation since entrepreneurship serves as a catalyst in industrialization and economic growth.

“The uniqueness of this innovation we are launching today is that it brings together key ecosystem actors that lead to successful growth of start-ups globally,” said CS Mucheru.

Mr. Mucheru maintained that the Government will always focus to create an enabling environment that supports innovators, entrepreneurs, researchers to step out and explore.

During the occasion, various partners gave donations to assist the vulnerable groups affected by Covid-19. Among these were Uwezo Fund, Women Enterprise Fund, Kenya Pipeline Corporation, UNFPA, and Ministry of Devolution among others.

Leaders present included Chief Administrative Secretary Hon. Rachel Shebesh (Public Service and Gender), Principal Secretaries Mary Kimonye (Public Service), Prof. Collette Suda (Gender), and Julius Korir (Youth Affairs); Director General – National Youth Service, Matilda Sakwa and UNFPA Country Representative, Ademola Olajide among other government officials and partners.

Past event: Public Service Prepares For Africa Public Service Day 2020

END.

Chief Administrative Secretary, Hon. Rachel Shebesh conducted a two-week inspection tour of the ministry’s programs in seven counties in the Western and Central regions. In the seven counties, Ms. Shebesh visited Huduma Centres, the ‘Kazi Mtaani’ program, and the Rehabilitation of the Kisumu port and Central Kenya railway line system. At the same time, the CAS facilitated disbursement of a total of Kshs 255 Million from the ministry’s Affirmative Funds.

Her visit to Huduma Centres was meant to assess their preparedness as they plan to resume delivery of services following the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. She toured the National Hygiene program dubbed ‘Kazi Mtaani’ in the counties. Kazi Mtaani is a national initiative under the supervision of the NYS. It aims to cushion youth whose livelihoods have been disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic. The NYS is also engaged in the rehabilitation of the Kisumu port and the Central line of the old railway system.    

During her Western region tour, the CAS inspected operations of ‘Kazi Mtaani’ in Obunga, Manyatta, Nyalenda, and visited Kisumu Port. In Nakuru County, Hon. Shebesh inspected the ongoing ‘Kazi Mtaani’ program and disbursed over Kshs 28 million to vulnerable groups from the National Government Affirmative Action Fund (NGAAF). 

In the Central region, the CAS visited NYS Tumaini field station in Nyandarua County where the NYS runs a potato seedlings production project. She called for an increase in the production of certified seedlings and provision of the same to Nyandarua farmers to cushion them during the pandemic period. 

In her discussions with the County leadership, she noted the rise of Gender-Based Violence cases during the Covid-19 period and urged the leadership to use existing National and County government’s structures to set up Gender-Based Violence (GBV) recovery facilities and safe houses to help GBV victims.

In Kiambu, Hon. Shebesh assessed the progress made with the ‘Kazi Mtaani’ project, the railway rehabilitation works in Kiandutu, Thika Town, and Kariminu, and presided over the issuance of Affirmative Action Funds worth Kshs 89 Million to various groups of Youth, Women, and Persons with Disabilities. In Murang’a County she disbursed over Kshs 57 Million. In Nyeri County, the CAS disbursed funds worth over Kshs 63 million. In Laikipia County,  she disbursed over Kshs 18 Million and challenged the residents to take advantage of the government interest friendly loans. 

She noted that the launch of phase two of ‘Kazi Mtaani’ program would provide a lifeline to 200,000 jobless youth across the country while imparting discipline and life skills under the supervision of the  NYS officers.

In all her stops the CAS interacted with the NYS servicemen and women and encouraged them to continue making their valuable contribution to national development.

The nation will next week celebrate the Africa Public Service Day on 23^rd June.

Celebrated every year across Africa, the day serves as a platform for Public Service organizations to showcase and reward excellence in the Public Service in order to promote and sustain quality in service delivery. The day was set aside by the African Union for public service organizations to reflect on the successes and challenges within the public service and ponder on plausible mitigating measures to address service delivery challenges.

Kenya has this year selected the theme: “Entrenching Good Governance: Developing Transparent and Accountable Public Institutions, which resonates with the 2020 African Union theme “Silencing the Guns: Creating Conducive Conditions for Africa’s Development”. 

In line with the prevailing situation occasioned by the COVID-19 Pandemic and emerging natural disasters among them floods and locusts, the national celebrations for this year will focus on responses to these challenges.

“This year’s celebrations will be unique in that it challenges the way we deliver public services in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has forced service organizations world over to be innovative and adapt new ways of doing business,” said Prof. Margaret Kobia, Cabinet Secretary for Public Service and Gender, as she expressed her enthusiasm for this year’s event. She further said that, “even in the wake of challenges posed by COVID -19, continuity and sustainability of excellence in public service delivery remains a priority for government

This year’s events will focus on activities that support the vulnerable citizens in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic; environmental conservation, particularly on tree planting in line with the President’s express commitment to achieve 10%  forest cover by 2022; and recognition of public service innovations and citizen engagement.

Specific activities organized by the State Department for Public Service include donations to vulnerable members of the public, tree planting and environmental cleanup activities in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment and Forestry and other stakeholders, among them county governments and National Administration. Cabinet Secretaries, Chief Administrative Secretaries and Principal Secretaries will lead their respective ministries and state departments in the tree planting exercise in various designated sites across the country.

The Nation’s Public Service sector has organized forums for Citizen engagement through a series of online interactions and public discourses led by renowned scholars and public figures.

The Cabinet Secretary for Public Service and Gender Prof. Margaret Kobia, urged Public Institutions in the National and County Governments to take part in the various activities that have been planned to mark the celebrations in line with their respective mandates.

“This year provides a unique opportunity for publice service to demonstrate sensitivity to challenges facing society and to re-double our efforts in serving the citizens while adhering to ethos and principles of public service,” said the Principal Secretary for State Department for Public Service, Mrs. Mary Kimonye.

As part of the celebrations, Ministries have been requested to identify and recognize Public Service Agencies, institutions and individuals that have applied innovation and excelled in public service delivery while serving in the frontlines of Covid-19 mitigation efforts. Download PDF

See more about APSD 2019 ( African Public Service Day 2019 ) Held in Kenya.