The government has proposed introducing a monthly stipend of Sh3,000 for village elders across the country in a move aimed at formally recognising their role in grassroots administration and community security.
The proposal was presented by Interior Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo while appearing before the National Assembly Departmental Committee on Administration and Internal Security during scrutiny of the 2026/2027 budget estimates at Parliament Buildings.
According to Omollo, the programme is expected to benefit about 110,000 village elders nationwide if approved by Parliament.
“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,” said Omollo.
He told lawmakers that the Ministry of Interior had already developed a policy framework and criteria for identifying village elders following years of consultations and public participation.
Under the proposal, each eligible village elder would begin receiving the stipend from the next financial year.
“Our expectation is that we will be giving a stipend of Sh3,000 to each village elder and the amount that has been provisioned for will be almost enough to take us through the whole year,” he said.
The PS added that the government intends to ensure only village elders who are not already benefiting from other state-funded programmes such as the elderly social safety net or community health promoter initiatives qualify for the payments.
Omollo also credited the parliamentary committee for supporting the allocation, saying the funding would not have been included in the budget estimates without its backing.
However, lawmakers urged the government to consider increasing the proposed stipend.
Committee chairperson Gabriel Tongoyo said the proposed payment was a positive step but argued village elders should ideally receive an amount comparable to that paid to community health promoters.
“We had nothing before, but maybe we should have put them at par with the community health promoters,” said Tongoyo.
Teso North MP Oku Kaunya sought clarification on the legal and administrative structure under which village elders would operate, saying the framework should clearly define their reporting system within the National Administration.
“I hope they are anchored within the National Administration structure. If that is the case, then I would support the idea that they need to have an enhanced amount to Sh5,000, which would be reasonable,” said Kaunya.
Tongoyo acknowledged that increasing the stipend to Sh5,000 would significantly raise the annual budget requirement to between Sh5.5 billion and Sh6 billion but said discussions with the Budget Committee and the National Treasury could still be pursued.
“The President has already pronounced himself on this issue during a meeting with chiefs. It is a conversation we can still pick up if there is a way to enhance it to at least Sh5,000,” he said.
Lawmakers nonetheless welcomed the proposal as the first formal government initiative to facilitate village elders, who have historically worked on a voluntary basis alongside chiefs and assistant chiefs in maintaining local administration, security and conflict resolution.
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