By Salome Gangire

Neno, February 5, Mana: Neno District Commissioner Rosemary Nawasha has urged participants of the Climate Smart Enhanced Public Works Programme (CS-EPWP) to invest their wages in small-scale businesses to improve their livelihoods.

Nawasha made the remarks on Tuesday at Ligowe in the area of Senior Chief Mlauli during the payment of wages to CS-EPWP participants.

She emphasized that the programme’s primary objective is to restore degraded landscapes while enhancing the livelihoods of participants.

"Please invest the money in small-scale businesses so that you can afford basic needs such as food, clothing, and school materials for your children while also boosting your household income," Nawasha said.

The District Commissioner highlighted that the project aims to create visible, durable, and high-quality assets within micro-catchments to improve household resilience to shocks, increase income levels, and enhance food security and seeks to reduce households' exposure to risks associated with climate change and its effects.

Nawasha revealed that the council is disbursing over K671 million in wages to participants working in all 14 catchments across the district.

She praised the programme for helping restore the district’s vegetative cover, contributing to environmental restoration.

A participant working at the Mwangisi Catchment from Zigwa Village under Senior Chief Mlauli, Aida Molosoni, expressed gratitude to the government for the wages.

She said the money had come at the right time and shared her plans to allocate the funds wisely.

"I am grateful to the government for this money. I will use part of it to buy food and invest the rest in my fritters business," she said.

According to CS-EPWP Project Facilitator for Neno, Chrissy Kamanga, there are 14,159 participants working across the district's 14 catchments and participants work for 30 paid days and 10 days of community contribution, earning K1,600 a day which translates to K48,000 per cycle.

The Climate Smart Enhanced Public Works Programme (CS-EPWP) is a key component of the Social Support for Resilient Livelihoods Project (SSRLP). It is implemented by the Malawi Government, funded by the Multi-Donor Trust Fund (MDTF) and the World Bank and is facilitated by the National Local Government Finance Committee (NLGFC) across all 28 district councils.