Kasungu District Council told to save social programme

National Local Governance Finance Committee has urged Kasungu District Council to sustain the country’s biggest social support scheme—Public Works Programme (PWP).

The call follows PWP’s failure to enhance income and food security among participants in the country, thereby leading to the withdrawal of support from development partners.

The committee’s executive director Alufeyo Banda said many people would suffer if the social support programme is discontinued.

“We negotiated with our development partner, World Bank, that we should experiment a new PWP which should later be evaluated and scaled up based on results,” he said.

Banda, therefore, pleaded with Kasungu District Environment Committee and extension workers to sustain the new programme.

“This time around, you should seriously go on the ground to make the programme a success so as to make it easier to negotiate with development partners,” he said.

Kasungu district commissioner (DC) James Kanyangalazi urged extension workers to play a crucial role in the implementation of the new Enhanced Public Works Programme (EPWP).

He said: “It is the same PWP that we have been implementing, but now it has a different approach.

“Therefore, there is need to look at the project in its totality. Extension workers have been used but not the way they will be used now. You will be on the ground and play an important role in the success of the project.”

The DC said EPWP is being piloted in 10 districts, including Kasungu.