Socio-Economic impacts and challenges of Old Person Cash Transfer in Mulundi Sub-Location in Kitui County, Kenya

Abstract

Older Persons Cash Transfer (OPCT) was introduced in Kenya in 2006 to provide financial assistance to the elderly people in the country. National budget allocation for the programme as well as enrollment of new beneficiaries have consistently increased over the years but vulnerability among the elderly population still remain high. The study area is located in an arid and semi-arid region, in Kitui County, Kenya that is characterized by limited income generations activities and low food production due to unpredictable weather. The aim of this study was to assess the socio-economic impacts of Older Persons Cash Transfer (OPCT) on the beneficiaries living in Mulundi sub-Location, Kitui County, Kenya. This study adopted a cross-sectional mixed methods approach to investigate the impacts of OPCT using both quantitative and qualitative data. A census survey was applied to undertake household study for all the 113 registered OPCT beneficiaries in Mulundi sub-location. The study found that female beneficiaries were more (58%) than men (42%) where majority of female beneficiaries were widowed (53%) and 72% were in the age between 65 and 75 years old. Apart from the few elderly (21%) who had alternative sources of income, majority (79%) depended on OPCT as the main source of income for their upkeep. Most of beneficiaries used the cash to buy food (44%), and pay school fees for their dependants (30%) while others spent on health care (12%) and buying clothing (10%). Due to age limit 32% of the elderly rarely got involved in the community development activities compared to 25% who totally were never involved. Majority of the beneficiaries felt that the monthly stipend allocation to each beneficiary was not adequate to cater for most of their needs. In line with that opinion, majority of the beneficiaries (57%) were not satisfied with the programme. This study established several challenges hindering realization of socio-economic impacts of cash transfer in the study area which included; inadequate and irregular disbursement of grants, management challenges, lack of clear channel for the beneficiaries to express their grievances and complaints, increased cost of living, and lack of transparency in the programme. This study recommends that appropriate measures should be put to investigate on the challenges to enhance management so that socio-economic benefits of the programme can be achieved.