Raila Urged to Fulfill Ksh6,000 Monthly Stipend After Joining Broad-based Government
On Wednesday, May 14, Nominated Senator Beatrice Oyomo called on President William Ruto to implement a key promise made by former Prime Minister Raila Odinga — a monthly stipend of Ksh6,000 for poor households.
Oyomo made the appeal while speaking in the Senate during a session where Cooperatives Cabinet Secretary Wycliffe Oparanya was being questioned.
Senator Oyomo challenged the CS to revisit Raila’s campaign promise, now that the two leaders appear to be working together under what is being termed a broad-based government.
She emphasized that it was time for the current administration to take up the social protection agenda that was central to Raila’s 2022 presidential manifesto.
“Honourable CS, now that we have become a broad-based government, is it possible to start giving the Ksh6,000 monthly payment that was promised to Kenyans in our campaign manifesto?” Oyomo posed.
The proposal for a Ksh6,000 monthly stipend was one of the most debated aspects of Raila Odinga’s campaign in the run-up to the 2022 General Election.
The idea was to support households and individuals living in extreme poverty across the country. According to Raila’s plan, between one million and 1.5 million households were expected to benefit from the initiative.
Had he won the presidency, Raila’s government was to spend between Ksh6 billion and Ksh9 billion every month, translating to an annual budget of Ksh72 billion to Ksh108 billion for the programme.
This massive investment was to support vulnerable families by offering a social safety net.
The Ksh6,000 monthly support plan was one of the three main pillars of Raila’s 2022 presidential campaign.
The other two pillars included the creation of five million jobs, mainly through investments in manufacturing, and the introduction of a universal healthcare programme dubbed “BabaCare”, aimed at providing quality healthcare for all Kenyans.
Many critics at the time questioned whether the project was realistic, especially since Raila promised to roll it out without introducing new taxes.
However, Raila defended the plan by pointing out that similar welfare programs were already working in several countries around the world, including some in Africa.
To fund the programme, Raila proposed reducing government spending significantly. He stated that each ministry would be required to slash its budget by 25 per cent. Additionally, he promised to use Ksh37 billion that was already allocated to social protection.
The remaining funds, he said, would come from cracking down on corruption and recovering public money lost through graft.
To make the programme sustainable, Raila said his administration would prioritize creating jobs for the youth within the first year in office, restructure the government to eliminate waste, and close all loopholes that allow corruption to thrive.
Despite the strong push for the programme during his campaign, the plan was never implemented because Raila lost the election to William Ruto in 2022.
Ruto instead introduced his own Bottom-up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), which focuses on boosting grassroots economic growth, job creation, and long-term economic sustainability rather than direct cash stipends.
Now, with Raila and Ruto seemingly working together under a broader political agreement, some leaders like Senator Oyomo believe it may be time to revisit and revive some of Raila’s social welfare proposals, especially the Ksh6,000 monthly stipend meant to help millions of struggling Kenyans.
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