Thousands of village elders across the country are set to receive a monthly stipend of Sh3,000 from next month after MPs approved this year’s budget.
National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi is expected to read highlights of the 2026-27 budget on Thursday next week.
Currently, the house is deliberating on the Budget and Appropriation Committee’s report that proposes Sh3,000 monthly stipend to the elders recognising their role in grassroots administration and community dispute resolution.
The lawmakers backed the plan during deliberations on measures intended to strengthen the national government's administrative structures at the village level.
Budget and Appropriation Committee vice chairperson Robert Pukose said the committee agreed that the elders should be appreciated for their role in the community.
“The budget has looked into all sectors and, for the first time, the committee has approved Sh3.5 billion for stipends for village elders,” Pukose said when seconding the budget report.
“We are hoping that, with this budget, the National Government Administration Officers will now pay stipends of Sh3,000 to village elders. This is just a start.”
The village administrators have for decades worked voluntarily alongside chiefs and assistant chiefs in local administration and security matters.
The stipend is expected to benefit village elders who have for years served as the first point of contact in resolving local disputes, mobilising communities for government programmes and assisting security agencies, often without any formal remuneration.
The stipend is expected to improve the welfare of the elders while enhancing service delivery at the grassroots level.
Interior Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo while appearing before the security committee last month told MPs that the programme would benefit about 110,000 village elders nationwide.
He said the Ministry of Interior had already developed a policy framework and criteria for the identification of village elders, following years of consultations and public participation.
“The conversation about village elders began in 2016 and the House actually gave directions to the ministry. It has taken almost 10 years to get us here,” Omollo told the committee chaired by Narok West MP Gabriel Tongoyo.
The PS added that the government would ensure only elders not benefiting from other state support programmes, such as the social safety net scheme for the elderly or community health promoter initiatives, would qualify for the stipend.
