Senior citizens denied Kes2000 Govt stipend by Safaricom’s demand for Fuliza, Hustler Fund

Last week I went to the Safaricom shop in Kisumu town to fix an issue with my line, and found as usual, long queues at the shop of people waiting to talk to the company agents to fix everything from buying new lines, mobile money hitches and support for merchants. This time, however, it was a bit different. I noticed a lot of elderly folk around and at first, I did not give it much of a thought.

The frail women in Sunday best Kitenge and the all-white hair men were bent over with age supported by younger children or grandchildren and walking stick smooth from use. Some looked like they had been bed ridden and either sat on the pavement or lay on the sidewalk.

The Soja- the doorman, tried to make life easier for them by limiting the number of customers who went into the Safaricom shop to make as many seats as possible vacant to accommodate the oldies. But this only made the queues outside longer and even then the seats were simply not enough some still had to sit on the sidewalk.

I thought to myself, for a company that made Kes140 billion in earnings last year and prides itself in good customer service surely there needs to be a solution to this queuing business.

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But maybe Safaricom did not have enough time to prepare, last year, the government announced the migration of all Inua Jamii beneficiaries to the eCitizen M-Pesa payment platform starting with the January 2025 disbursement.

Social Protection and Senior Citizen Affairs Principal Secretary Joseph Motari on Thursday said Inua Jamii beneficiaries would begin accessing funds through M-Pesa agents by dialling the USSD code *222#.

This was in order to comply with the World Bank which had obligated Kenya to use its recently developed digital socio-economic database of poor and vulnerable population Enhanced Single Registry (ESR).

Bank Cake

The Older Persons Cash Transfer (Pesa ya Wazee) now under the Inua Jamii Program was started in 2007. The money is meant to enable them to pay for medicine, buy food and cover other necessities.

Kenya spends nearly half a trillion each year supporting 1.7 million direct beneficiaries and approximately 5 million indirect beneficiaries through cash transfers.

The programme covers all Kenyan citizens above 70 years, orphans, people with severe disabilities, and Households facing extreme poverty are entitled to a monthly income of Kes2,000 per month.

In the past, this money was being disbursed through designated agents like Post Bank, Equity Bank, Kenya Commercial Bank, and Cooperative Bank. KCB Group in its 2022 integrated report indicates it had served a total of 561,321 beneficiaries disbursing Kes11.1 billion under the programme.

Every once a month you would find a queue similar to this one outside KCB Group. But the bank had limited outlets and agents to disburse the cash which meant that some beneficiaries missed out. It was also costly to collect the money as the old had to travel to towns and centers, yet some were too old to move about.

“Some of the some of the registered beneficiaries failed to collect the funds,” KCB Group admitted in the annual report last year.

Hiccups

While it seemed logical to move it to Safaricom which has more agents and the ability to disburse the funds directly to the elderly, the shift has been marred by challenges.

The biggest is the confusion in phone numbers. First, MPESA agents are not usually allowed to register a line if anyone is 60 years or older. To fix this, Safaricom made an exception for Inua Jamii beneficiaries or caregivers but they needed to have their Identity cards physically validated by Safaricom.

When they came to have their lines registered some were told the money had been sent to old lines, which had either been transferred to new users or their lines had debt liabilities that needed to be paid first.

The soja told us that some were shocked to learn they had Fuliza, Lipa Mdogo Mdogo or Hustler Fund loans when they came to the Safaricom shop to get their lines fixed.

“I think this thing will be fixed, some of them have come for Kes2000, and they find they have a loan of Kes5,000 and they have to go back home with nothing,” he said.

Mirror Mirror

I witnessed such a case, that had me convinced that not only had the government not prepared for this shift or anticipated its flaws, prioritizing debt collection over these vulnerable people.

Safaricom had also take the cue from the state and used this opportunity to recover its debt, instead of preparing its staffers to deal with the deluge, rather they left it to the Sojas who were now left to deliver the bad news. 

It was a sorry state, watching these old folks pacing slow, hunched over their backs and holding on to their makeshift walking sticks or loved ones for support. 

As I saw them, the fine lines on their faces, where the smiles and worries once lived, sunken eyes, folded hands, gray hair and frail bodies, I felt a deep appreciation for life, and how fickle it is. Like a shooting star in the night sky.

I thought of how it feels like yesterday that I was just joining the school, and the next thing I know is I'm an adult doing adult stuff.  For these old folk, it must feel the same, that they were once my age and suddenly here they are. Yet they are the lucky ones, to grow old in itself is no guarantee. Life is bittersweet like that.

No shop for old people

A lady in black with a Safaricom name tag woke me from my thoughts when she asked me how I could be assisted. Soon after, once a seat became available, I was ushered in, got my ticket number, and awaited the computer to call my 'name'.

I sat next to an old lady, something about her reminded me of my grandmother.

She was wearing a long kitenge dress and, I would assume, using two walking sticks, one makeshift and the other hospital-grade, which she covered with red and blue 'Uhuru bags' for comfort while in use.

She scanned the room as if looking for someone, then turned to me and said 'Nyara, ere pi modho ka ' My daughter, where's the drinking water '

I had never drunk water at a Safaricom shop before, but at first I assumed just like in hospitals or banks, they would have a dispenser in a corner somewhere, especially here in Kisumu where the heat is unforgiving and queuing for long would leave most thirsty and exhausted.

I told her there's none that I can see here, but I will ask for her.

Soja Services

They managed to get some for her from behind the 'no access' door and she was grateful. She asked me how she would get her money, and I was unsure what to tell her. A gentleman, who I assumed to be her son came to check on her. She assured her they are sorting out the issue.

Just after he said that, the Soja at the gate who was doubling up as a customer service agent said she had figured out what the issue was.

She said the number the government had registered in her name was her previous number, and her money was sent there.  The government didn't have this current number of hers that's why she hadn't received any money.

Disappointed with no solution in sight, the son decided it was best that they left. She asked her mom to see if she had her ID back from him.

She removed a little handkerchief buried in her chest tied in a knot.  Untied the knot and a coin fell out, clanging loudly on the floor. She ignored it and continued to dig in to get her ID. 

Centenary

I couldn't resist looking, the ID was old, with a black and white photo of her in an afro, I wondered when it was taken or how old she might have been in that photo. 

What I could tell was how old she is now as the date of birth read 1929. 

I wondered what it was that the government and Safaricom were doing that would force a 96 year old who can barely walk to leave the comfort of her home and face this scorching sun. Only to be turned back empty handed.

 And she was not alone.

Soon after she left, as I was waiting my turn, another elderly gentleman was ushered in. He was quick to voice his frustration at any agent that walked past. 

He also felt he should explain to me his frustration. According to him, KCB was better serving them through banking outlets and agents. He says they used to collect pesa ya wazee at any bank agent, and now the government has decided without consulting them to move to mobile money transfer which has been nothing but frustrating.