The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has revealed that the government has been sending cash to accounts belonging to the dead.
In a report presented to the State Department for Social Protection and Senior Citizens Affairs, the anti-graft agency has indicated that some of these dead Kenyans received money three years after their demise.
The revelations follow investigations into the implementation of the Older Persons Cash Transfer Program (OPCT) ran by the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection.
According to the Commission, findings from a survey conducted between April 5, 2024, and May 22, 2024, have revealed flawed systems at the State Department that could create avenues for corruption and unethical practices.
“The study was conducted between April 5 and May 22, 2024, and it aimed to identify weaknesses and opportunities that could be exploited to perpetuate corrupt and unethical practices and to provide recommendations to strengthen the systems of work,
“The review took the form of formal and informal interviews, content analysis of various documents used in the cash transfer program, policy analysis, Operations Manual (OM) and other accountable documents. The officers also visited the sampled beneficiaries in selected counties,” EACC Stated.
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How Dead Kenyans received the Cash
According to the findings of the report, the state department failed to establish mechanisms for identifying pensioners eligible to benefit from the program.
Consequently, it was not able to differentiate between existing and eligible OPCT Program beneficiaries and that more deserving older persons were denied priority to benefit from the funds.
At the same time, there were significant delays in removing deceased beneficiaries from the program.
“In some instances, withdrawals were made from the accounts of deceased beneficiaries nearly three years after death,” EACC reported.
This means that there were dead Kenyans whose accounts were still receiving cash.
While receiving the report, the Principal Secretary of the department Joseph Motari noted that some of the findings and recommendations had already been flagged in the Department’s external auditor’s report.
However, he promised to use the report as his department’s working tool and asked his staff to study and internalize it.
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Older Persons Cash Transfer (OPCT) Program
The Older Persons Cash Transfer (OPCT) is part of the Inua Jamii program which is the Government of Kenya’s flagship National Safety Net Program (NSNP) for an older person.
Those eligible to benefit are Kenyan citizens who are 70 years and above and who are not receiving pension.
Further, the beneficiaries should also not be enrolled in any other cash transfer program.
Also, they should be residing in a particular location for more than a year
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