Kenya poverty levels to rise over next two years, says report

Tuesday, September 3rd 2013, GLANCE FACTS

 In its bid to reduce poverty levels, the Jubilee Government has increased the social protection safety net in form of cash transfers — MPs’ budget watch report 2013/14
 
By JACKSON OKOTH

The report shows that poverty levels increased between 2005
and 2013, a period that falls within Kibaki’s 10-year tenure. 

A parliamentary report has returned a damning assessment of former president Mwai Kibaki’s legacy in the area of fighting poverty.The report projects that some 3.7 million households will be living below the poverty line in the next two years, thanks to negative momentum built during Kibaki’s much-heralded tenure.
The economic assessment, titled MPs’ Budget Watch 2013/14: Oversight for Improved Public Expenditure, questions the wisdom and success of various initiatives by the former coalition government designed to fight poverty.
They include Kazi Kwa Vijana programmes, whose funding ended up in the deep pockets of wheeler-dealers and powerful State operatives.
Figures compiled by the Parliamentary Budget Office also indicate that poverty levels will get worse for most counties before they can get better, three years from now.
For instance, poverty levels for Nairobi, which stood at 26.1 per cent last year, will increase to 26.2 per cent this year before falling to 25.4 per cent in 2015. The share of households living below the poverty line is expected to decrease from 44.3 per cent in 2012/13 to 42.1 per cent in 2016.

While the number of poor households stood at 2.7 million in 2005/06, this number has increased to 3.7 million recorded last year.
The report shows that poverty levels increased between 2005 and 2013, a period that falls within Kibaki’s 10-year tenure. The total number of poor households has continuously increased since the last Kenya National Bureau of Statistics survey in 2005/06, the report notes.
Cash transfers
In its bid to reduce poverty levels, the Jubilee Government has increased the social protection safety net in form of cash transfers. The number of orphans targeted under the social protection safety net is expected to double from 155,000 to 310,000 at a cost of Sh7.7 billion.
This includes Sh400 million for Presidential Secondary School Bursary Scheme for orphans, poor and bright students. The number of elderly people targeted for cash transfers is also expected to double from 59,000 to 118,000 at cost of Sh3 billion. An allocation of Sh770 million has been made to cover those with extreme disability from 14,700 to 29,400. Sh462 million has been set aside for “other” disabled persons under coverage of cash transfer.On the revenue side, there are proposals to seal leakages in revenue collection through tax reforms. Through these strategic interventions, the government is confident that it will create one million jobs per year, lift at least 10 million Kenyans out of poverty and expand social protection coverage to the vulnerable.
The Parliamentary Budget Office, whose primary function is to provide professional services in respect of budget, finance and economic information to the committees of Parliament, reports that the share of households below the poverty line is projected to have risen from 38.8 per cent in 2005/06 to 46.3 percent last year.The report warns that unless specific poverty related initiatives are undertaken, the total number of poor individuals is projected to increase to 22.4 million in 2015/16.
However, the share of individuals below the poverty line is poised to reduce by about 2.1 percentage points over the medium term (2012/13-2015/16). “It is apparent that all initiatives that have been executed in the past to fight poverty have failed. Most of them deal with the symptoms rather than the issue at hand,” said Kithinji Kiragu, a Director at Africa Development Professional Group Ltd and a Public Sector Management specialist.
“Poverty and youth unemployment is a global problem and not unique to Kenya. What are required are not simplistic solutions but well thought out strategies that incorporate input from both the youth and older generation,” said Kiragu.
Over time, some counties have reversed the poverty trend while the poverty levels in others have increased. The parliamentary report says that it is important to put in place county-specific strategies of addressing poverty as opposed to taking a generalised approach.
Turkana is the poorest county in Kenya according to figures from the parliamentary budget office, with over 90 per cent of the population living below the poverty line. It is followed by Wajir, Marsabit and Mandera.