Effect Of Unconditional Cash Transfer Programmes On Livelihoods Of Beneficiaries In Garissa County, Kenya

Abstract

The main goal of this study was to evaluate the effect of unconditional cash transfer programmes on livelihoods of beneficiaries in Garissa County, Kenya. Specifically, the study sought to examine the influence of UCTs’ disbursement, delivery mechanism and sustainability on the livelihoods of beneficiaries. The study was anchored on income effect theory, economic stimulus theory and human capital development theory. The study employed a mixed-methods research design. Qualitative and quantitative data was used to fulfil the purpose of this study. The target population for this study was the residents of Garissa County who are beneficiaries of UCT. This includes elderly people, people living with severe disability and vulnerable children. Thus sample size was 384 beneficiaries. Questionnaires were used to collect primary data from residents. Interviews were also used to collect data from 10 government officials from the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of Kenya. Data analysis was conducted after the data was collected from the field. The data was sorted for completeness, then coded and entered in SPSS version 26.0. The data collected was both quantitative and qualitative, and it was processed and analysed using descriptive statistics such as percentages, frequencies, and tables. Further, the study conducted correlation and regression analyses with the aim of determining the relationships that exists between the study variables. The qualitative data was analysed thematically guided by the study objectives. The study found and the study concluded that UCTs’ disbursement and UCTs’ delivery mechanism were significant factors in influencing beneficiaries’ livelihoods with significant value of .000 each. Further, the study concludes that UCT’s sustainability insignificantly influenced the beneficiaries’ livelihoods. In addition, UCTs’ disbursement was the most significant factor in the beneficiaries’ livelihoods followed by UCTs’ Delivery Mechanism and eventually UCTs’ sustainability was an insignificant factor in influencing beneficiaries’ livelihoods with significant value of .829. The study recommends that Block Chain-Based UCT disbursement system should be implemented which would provide a secure, transparent, and tamper-proof platform for transferring funds directly to beneficiaries. In addition, it recommends that Mobile Money-Based UCTs Delivery should be introduced which would revolutionize the delivery mechanism of UCTs in Garissa County. Finally, the study recommends that program should allocate a portion of UCT funds to invest in skills training and income-generating projects for beneficiaries. Equipping recipients with valuable skills and resources, such as agricultural training, vocational skills, or entrepreneurship programs, beneficiaries could create sustainable sources of income.