Defence Ministry Halts KDF’s Lunch Subsidy Causing Jitters
The Kenya Defense soldiers (KDF) have expressed concern about the Ministry of Defense’s intention to end the lunch subsidy program for disciplined soldiers on July 1st of this year.
According to a memo signed by Major General Mohammed Nur Hassan, the revisions to the ‘pay as you eat’ scheme were necessary due to the subsidy programme’s inefficiencies and ineffectiveness.
The new order asks for the elimination of the exchequer-funded lunch subsidy programme by the end of the current fiscal year and the implementation of the new pay-as-you-eat scheme by July 1, 2025.
According to reports, this news has sparked fear among the country’s disciplined military officers.
A letter issued by Major General Hassan on the 17th of this month revealed that a committee was formed to examine the benefits and drawbacks of the subsidy scheme.
It delivered the suggestions to the service commanders committee meeting, which included the Kenya Army, Kenya Air Force, and Kenya Navy Service Commanders.
KDF Lunch Subsidy Cut:
— Citizen TV Kenya (@citizentvkenya) January 26, 2025
Disquiet among officers as KDF ends lunch subsidy
New Pay-As-You-Eat (P.A.Y.E) system to start in July
Subsidy cut over ‘inefficiency & ineffectiveness’
Service commanders to prepare new cashless systems #CitizenSundayLive @KoinangeJeff pic.twitter.com/cvyEUEzImB
On October 29, 2024, it suggested “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 also urged service commanders to create cost-effective cashless payment mechanisms, including M-Pesa Paybill numbers, to pay for soldiers’ meals.
The new directive has apparently generated concern among officers, the bulk of whom are junior in the military, who would now have to dig deeper into their pockets to secure the country.
However, the ministry has defended the idea, which aims to save between Ksh.2 and 3 billion every fiscal year.
“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,” it said.
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The ministry added: “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 goes on to say that the cash given to the exchequer feeding program would be used to repair the existing messing facility infrastructure and acquire catering supplies.
Ration cash allowance was introduced into the Kenya Defence Forces in 2000 when support for other meals (breakfast and dinner) was removed. The allowance has undergone many upward revisions to protect members against inflation.
Defence Ministry Halts KDF’s Lunch Subsidy Causing Jitters
