By SYLVESTER MWALE –
The Ministry of Community Development says an additional 44,000 vulnerable households are expected to benefit from the Government’s social cash transfer system by the end of this month.
The social cash transfers are regular non contributory payments of money provided by Government to vulnerable individuals or households in an effort to reduce poverty.
It is a response to the increasing levels of poverty and vulnerability among communities and the selection of the areas is determined by the living conditions monitoring survey by the Central Statistic Office.
The beneficiaries are given K140 bi-month while vulnerable families have double of the amount in the 50 districts.
Social welfare officer Kennedy Mumba said when he made a presentation during the week that the number of beneficiaries of the cash transfer scheme would reach 189,000 households.
“Currently 145,000 households are on the scheme and 189,000 households are expected to be reached by 31st December, 2014,” Mr Mumba said.
“The scheme is an alternative to the in-kind assistance offered through community structures and tries to respond to the growing number of poor and vulnerable households.”
Mr Mumba said apart from reducing extreme poverty, the scheme also offered an opportunity for households to invest in the future of their children.
He said studies that had been carried out had indicated that the cash transfer scheme had helped to reduce extreme poverty as well as improved the incomes in vulnerable households.
“The number of household eating more than one meal per day increased by 19 percentage points and that of households not severely food insecure increased by 18 percentage points,” he said.
Meanwhile, 175 vulnerable individuals were assisted with school bursaries through the public welfare assistance scheme in the past three months.
Chief social welfare officer Irene Munga said when she made her presentation that another 160 were given clothes and bedding’s.
The public welfare assistance support is given in kind and range from, education, health and social support.