By Priscilla Phiri

Ntchisi, August 14, Mana: Chairperson for the Parliamentary Committee on Social and Community Affairs, Savel Kafwafwa has pleaded with the government to increase the amount of income allocated to Social Cash Transfer Programme (SCTP) beneficiaries to effectively alleviate poverty in the country.

He said this at an event organized by the Ministry of Gender, Social Welfare, and Community Development aimed at appreciating the progress of the SCTP in Ntchisi district on Wednesday at Gwangwa Primary School, TA Kalumo.

Kafwafwa said a number of beneficiaries graduating from the programme have been able to improve their livelihoods by managing the reasonable amount they received from the programme.

“We came here to look into the practical issues related to social cash transfer, and we have very good news. We have seen that the programme has helped transform a lot of people who were almost beggars, but now they have their own assets like goats, sheep, houses, and businesses, which is highly commendable,” he said.

The Chairperson noted that most of the beneficiaries of the programme managed to develop significantly after receiving a larger sum of money in arrears.

He observed some households, although they are graduating, have not been able to realize much from the programme due to extreme poverty among other challenges.

“We have observed that some households have not benefited much from the programme because of extreme poverty, which has raised questions on whether the money is really enough during our visit to the households. However, there are others that have just been careless with the money. For instance, we failed to meet one beneficiary because he went out drinking immediately after he received his money,” Kafwafwa added.

He pleaded with the government to consider increasing the amount given to the beneficiaries to meaningfully rescue them from the jaws of poverty.

“It’s high time that Malawi allocated enough funds for the programme. We commend this government, especially the President, for increasing the average monthly allocation for the beneficiaries from K10,000 to K18,000. We still plead for more so that others may benefit from the programme,”Kafwafwa said.

He appealed to the Ministry of Gender to review its database to manage to help those that are deserving.

Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries, Sofileti Soko, who was among the graduates of the program at Gwangwa, expressed her heartfelt gratitude to the government for giving her hope through the SCTP.

“I had no capital to start my business, but after I got selected to benefit from this programme, I managed to start a business and learn how to sustain it through the programme. A number of us are now financially capable of managing our households as well as the income by multiplying it through village banks, another strategy that we have learned from the programme,” she said.

Deputy Director responsible for SCTP in the Ministry of Gender, Social Welfare, and Community Development, Ben M’bwana, commended beneficiaries who utilized their funds well by starting businesses and farming, among other activities, saying they have set a good example for other beneficiaries to follow.

Social Cash Transfer Programme locally known as Mtukula Pakhomo is an unconditional cash transfer programme targeted to ultra-poor, labour-constrained households.