At least 1 807 households are expected to benefit from a three-year social cash transfer programme which Community Savings and Investment Promotion (Comsip) will implement in Chiradzulu in 2017.
Comsip social development specialist Davies Luhanga said this on Friday when he briefed district executive committee (DEC) members about the programme, which is expected to focus on households that benefit from the Public Works Programme (PWP).
Under PWP, beneficiaries work for 12 days in various development projects and receive K600 per day. The beneficiaries will, therefore, be empowered to become self-reliant by venturing into small-scale businesses.
He said: “Time has come for such beneficiaries to start investing the money they receive in small-scale businesses to become self-reliant. We should gradually move away from the syndrome of receiving handouts. But this can happen if vulnerable people are taught business skills.”
Chiradzulu district community development officer Blessings Kayira said the project will help achieve sustainable development.
“If people are taught to manage the income they get from whatever source, they can be rescued from the web of poverty, thereby expediting development,” he said. n