In Kenya, free cash is the latest solution to overcoming poverty
BONDO, Kenya: Until recently, Molly s truggled t o imagine l ife beyond the end of each repetitive day: work in someone else’s fields and ea rn e nough t o ea t, ri nse, repeat.
“It was a vicious circle I could not escape,” says the 25-year- old villager in the B ondo r egion o f western Kenya.
Her h ard- scrabble, r ural existence is t he same for ma ny in S iaya C ounty w here p eople eke out a l iving farming maize, millet a nd c otton i n t he o chre soil.
But t hat w as b efore t he introduction in h er v illage of a c ash h andout k nown a s “universal b asic i ncome”. I t’s part of a l arge, intensive, multiyear study aimed at discovering a n ew w ay to en d p overty i n Africa.
Molly b egan r eceiving a n ostrings, fixed monthly donation of 2,250 shillings ($ 22, 19 euros) two y ears a go, a nd s ince t hen “everything h as c hanged”, s he says.
“I was able to s ave to st udy to be a n ursery s chool tea cher,” she says proudly inside her t inroofed cement home as chickens pecked outside.
“It was the little bit of help that turned my situation around.”
With a paid internship at the village s chool M olly h as b uilt on t he fou ndation o f u niversal basic income to see her monthly income m ore th an d ouble t o US$ 50, broadening her horizons.
“Before, I b arely ha d e nough money t o s urvive but no w I have p lans... I e ven go t o t he hairdresser o nce e very t wo months,” she says with a smile.
According to the World Bank, over a t hird of Ken ya’s n early 50 mi llion c itizens li ve be low the international poverty line of US$ 1.90 ( RM8) a day.
Molly’s village — which is not being i dentified i n o rder n ot to stir envy or skew the study — is one of scores in the area chosen by the US ch arity Give Directly to t est t he u niversal ba sic income theory.
The r egion wa ss elected because of i ts p overty, but a lso its st ability a nd, cr ucially, t he effectiveness of Ken ya’s m obile money transfer system, M-Pesa, that allows the easy distribution of payments.
Founded in 2 010 and working in s ix A frican co untries, G ive Directly sends money straight to the poor allowing them to choose their own priorities, rather than outsiders “deciding i nstead o f them”, explains the non-profit’s spokeswoman Caroline Teti.
Previously, r ecipients we re given a si ngle l ump s um, but now monthly payments are being trialled.
“When you give people money monthly, will they stop working? Will th ey tak e r isks in th e way th ey in vest kn owing th ey will have an income whatever happens? H ow d oes t hat a ffect their as pirations?” sa ys Te ti of s ome of t he q uestions t heir programme is testing.
“There is a global debate about universal i ncome a nd w e w ant evidence t o move forward,” she says.
The study is the biggest in the world and will involve a total of 20,000 people in western Kenya.
Residents o f 4 0 vi llages wi ll receive U S$ 22 a m onth fo r 1 2 years, a further 80 villages will receive t he s ame a mount for just two years, while another 76 villages wi ll rec eive t wo l ump sum payments of US$ 507 spaced two months apart.
Molly’s neighbour, 29-year- old Edwin, hopes to replace his mud hut w ith a c ement home, w hile Monica an d h er h usband h ave invested in small- scale chicken farming.
“We have a new enclosure and a few chickens,” says Monica, 30, wearing an elegant black dress, mended i n se veral p laces. S he hopes to be able to send her three children t o s chool s o t hat t hey won’t “live in poverty, like us”.
Without p atronising prescriptions f rom donor s, “everyone in the village is using the money differently,” she adds.
Give D irectly be lieves universal basic income is useful, but not a panacea.
“When y ou a re i n a c onflict situation, you m ay h ave b een affected b eyond b asic (ne eds), you m ay n ot h ave a p lace to sleep, you’re more vulnerable to disease,” says Teti.
“In that context, basic income can be a part of a solution, but it cannot be the sole solution.”
Nor, she adds, is it a substitute for t he st ate’s o bligations to provide li fe’s b asics s uch as schools and healthcare.
For v illagers in volved in th e basic i ncome e xperiment, t he money is an assist not a solution, and als o an o pportunity, t o b e seized or squandered.
“2,250 shillings is not enough to b uy u seless t hings,” s ays Judge S amson, 7 2, e xplaining why v illagers a re n ot w asting their c ash h andouts. “It’s j ust enough to feed you and get out of poverty.”
Monica has i nvested h er money to benefit her family, but worries that if the basic income trial is a success, o thers might prove less thrifty.
“Maybe in the future some will forget what we went through and start buying stupid things,” she warns, b ut t hen add s: “I don ’t think th at will b e the ca se.” — AFP