By NAMUTENGA SAKAPILA
Bwana Mkubwa Member of Parliament Jonas Chanda says the Social Cash Transfer (SCT) should have a weaning period for beneficiaries so that they can at some point start to support themselves.
Dr Chanda said there must be a way out of poverty for the vulnerable and not create dependence through hand to mouth cash handouts.
The Lawmaker, who was speaking in Parliament in support of the 2019 Budget for the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services, said the poor and incapacitated people must create wealth using SCT under strict supervision.
He said that since the main objective of SCT is to lift the vulnerable out of extreme poverty, there is need to measure the impact of the program by the number of vulnerable and incapacitated beneficiaries being empowered.
“The Ministry has seen a budget cut of 10% from K1.2 billion in 2018 to K923,083,129 in 2019 while still maintaining the same number of beneficiaries at 700,000, it will face a challenge to delicately balance between quantity and quality in its programs” he said.
The lawmaker said the Ministry should consider changing the current SCT Model which is household based to a group model for beneficiaries who are engaging in income generating projects.
He said the Ministry should shift away from the current unconditional model to a conditional SCT Model practiced in Latin American countries where conditions such as attendance of mother and child health (MCH), school attendance for children and others are also attached as a prerequisite to receiving SCT support, thus having a multiplier effect on other sustainable development goals (SDGs).
“The PF government is working hard for its pro-poor policies which have seen a dramatic increase in the number of SCT beneficiaries from 32,643 in 2011 under MMD government to the current 700,000, representing a 2,144% increase. He says under PF, government support towards SCT budget has increased to 75% while donors provide 25%,” he said.
