This archive report was first published on 4 September 2019.
Published on September 4, 2019, the National Treasury has proposed regulations to create a Sh2 billion social assistance fund for the provision of social assistance to poor and vulnerable persons.
The fund aims to support individuals in extreme poverty, who are defined as those suffering from severe deprivation of basic human needs, including access to food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education, and access to information on the same.
According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), as of 2016, 8.6 per cent of Kenyans (3.9 million people) are extremely poor, representing 682,000 households. Most of the poor Kenyans live in rural areas, where 11.2 per cent of residents (3.2 million individuals) were hardcore poor.
The allocation of the fund will be done in the current financial year, with resources also being mobilized from development partners and other sources. The Ministry of Devolution will oversee the welfare programmes, with the Treasury setting aside Sh30 billion for social safety nets in the 2019/20 financial year.
Anyone found guilty of misappropriating the funds will face a fine of Sh10 million or five years in jail, while abuse of social assistance by beneficiaries will lead to termination.
