By George Bulombola

Mzuzu, August 3, Mana: Vice Board Chairperson for National Local Government Finance Committee (NLGFC), Lilian Khofi, says village savings and loans (VSLs) groups have a remarkable impact in improving people’s socio economic status.

Khofi was speaking Friday when members of the board toured savings and loans groups in Mzuzu in concluding a monitoring visit to appreciate the impact of District Development Fund and Constituency Development Fund.

They also monitored the impact of Governance to Enable Service Delivery and Performance Based Grants (GESD-PBG) social support programs and Social Support for Resilient Livelihoods Project (SSRLP-Tidzidalire) in Chitipa, Rumphi, Nkhata Bay and Mzuzu City.

Beneficiaries of Covid-19 Urban Cash Intervention in 2021 and the current Price Shock Response mobilized themselves to inject and invest money through formation of the VSL groups as a way of sustaining their Livelihoods.

Khofi said the committee is impressed by women run businesses as a direct impact of the cash injections leading to mushrooming of business as impact of the social protection programs.

“I am pleased to note that they have worked hard to grow their money which they invested in VSLs groups that were established under the SSRLP-Tidzidalire Project with technical assistance from Community Savings and Investment Promotion (COMSIP).

“The groups are scattered across the country hence the need for members to be sharing challenges and successes so that those lagging behind should be assisted to move forward.  I am impressed with what I have seen in all the districts,” said Khofi.

COMSIP Chief Executive Officer, Tenneson Gondwe, was impressed by the delegation’s tour to the groups.

“Our role is to assist beneficiaries to be resilient to shocks through sustainable utilization of the money which they get through interventions that were previously meant for rural populations.

“Currently, we have seen a shift in the approach as SCTP is also introduced into cities due Covid-19 and price escalation resulting from Kwacha devaluation, hence cushioning mechanisms to protect people in such areas from such shocks,” said Gondwe.

He added that COMSIP comes in to build beneficiaries’ resilience and capacity enhancement for them to have economic strength at household level.

Chairperson for Timasilira Savings and Loans Group in Mzuzu, Fanny Siyeni, said through technical assistance from COMSIP, the group’s operations are up to date as members have access to loans at low interest rates since they own the capital.

“We have businesses at both individual and group levels to ensure that we continue sustaining and benefiting from our savings which we raised from social protection programs,” said Siyeni.