Socio-economic Impact of Old Persons' Cash Transfer in Mulundi Sub-location, Kitui County-Kenya

Abstract

Kenya runs several social protection programmes, among which is Older Persons Cash Transfer purposed to support the elderly population (more than 65 years old) for their upkeep and minimize their vulnerability to socio-economic challenges. Over the years since 2004, budget allocation for the programme has been increasing, but little information is available to show how effective the programme is or whether the grants are adequate for the beneficiaries to meet their financial and social needs. This study applied cross-sectional mixed methods to evaluate the socioeconomic impacts of the Older Persons Cash Transfer on the recipients living in Mulundi sub-Location, Kitui County, Kenya. In this study, a household census survey was employed to gather information from all 113 registered beneficiaries in the Mulundi sub-location using a questionnaire. The local area chief, two officials from the county social development office and three village elders were involved as the key informants. A total of 12 focus group discussion participants were involved in two separate sessions, one for men and the other for women. There were more female beneficiaries (58 percent) than male beneficiaries (42 percent), the majority of whom were widowed (53 percent). Most of the beneficiaries (72 percent) were the age between 65 and 75 years old, thus suggesting there is a high number of newly enrolled beneficiaries in vulnerable conditions. Few beneficiaries (21 percent) had alternative sources of income, while a majority (79 percent) depended on cash transfer as the main source of income. Most of the beneficiaries used cash to buy food (44 percent), pay school fees for their dependents (30 percent), health care (12 percent) and buy clothes (10 percent). The majority of the programme beneficiaries (57%) were dissatisfied with it, with most of them believing that it had not improved their economic state and that the monthly stipend was insufficient to cover most of their needs. The majority of the beneficiaries were women, many of them widowed suggesting that they are more vulnerable than male beneficiaries, they lacked companionship, made individual decisions on spending the funds and faced a wide range of financial needs in their families. Most of the beneficiaries were not commonly involved in community development activities. The programme beneficiaries faced a number of challenges, including insufficient and erratic grant disbursement, management issues, a lack of a clear grievance airing procedure, a rising cost of living, and a lack of openness in the programme's management. The paper concludes that Older Persons Cash Transfer Programme has improved the socioeconomic welfare of the elderly, but the programme also faces challenges that need to be addressed in order to make it more efficient and fully achieve its intended objective of improving the lives of older persons.