In a memo signed by Major General Mohammed Nur Hassan, the changes to the ‘pay as you eat’ plan are owed to the inefficiencies and ineffectiveness of the subsidy programme.
The new directive dictates abolishment of the exchequer-funded lunch subsidy programme by the end of the current financial year and usher in the new pay-as-you-eat system by July 1, 2025.
A letter signed by Major General Hassan on the 17th of this month revealed that a committee established to go through the merits and demerits of the subsidy programme presented the recommendations to the service commanders committee meeting, which brings together the Kenya Army, Kenya Air Force and the Kenya Navy Service Commanders.
The committee stated, “The transition from the existing exchequer-funded lunch programme to the pay-as-you-eat (PAYE) system, necessitated by the inefficiencies and ineffectiveness of the former system.”
The memo further directed service commanders to prepare cost-effective cashless payment systems including M-Pesa Paybill numbers to pay for the soldiers’ meals.
“The system is to be deployed no later than March 31, 2025, to facilitate meal bookings and payments, ensuring accountability and efficiency… Note that the PAYE system is scheduled to be operational on July 1, 2025,” the communique read.
The defence ministry has since commended the plan which aims to save about Ksh.2-3 billion per financial year.
The Ministry stated, “The decision to transition from exchequer-funded lunch program for service members to pay-as-you-eat (PAYE) has been necessitated by the need to streamline budgetary allocation, efficiency in the use of government resources, facilitating access to a variety of meals that suit individual preferences and alignment to best military practices both regionally and internationally,”
“The exchequer feeding system has proved non-cost effective. It does not offer flexibility of time nor does it provide the convenience of a feeding place and further negates Kenya Defence Forces service members a variety of meals to suit different individual preferences. Consequently, the system is faulted for loss of working hours due to long queues and duplication of ration scales when service members are assigned duties to different camps,” the statement adds.
The funds allocated to the exchequer feeding program will now be used to improve the existing messing facility infrastructure and acquisition of catering requirements.
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