Over One Million Social Cash Beneficiaries To Be Reached By End Of Year
Community Development and Social Services Minister Doreen Mwamba has said that the government is on track to reach one million beneficiaries for social cash transfers by the end of the year.
Speaking during a ministerial update to Parliament on Tuesday, Ms Mwamba said that according to the latest estimates social cash transfers are due to reach 1,027,000 recipients by 31st December 2022.
Of these recipients, the minister outlined, 646,882 are in female-headed households, while 129,100 are people with disabilities and 162,715 are elderly people.
Those who are chronically ill or on palliative care account for 31,194, while 3,432 beneficiaries are in child-headed households.
“Payments for the months of May and June are currently underway in every district and are expected to be concluded this Friday, 1st July 2022,” the minister explained.
“This is important to ensure that household incomes are stable to assist beneficiaries in meeting their immediate needs, invest in assets and avoid negative coping strategies,” she added.
Ms Mwamba also explained that the government has automated the payment system for social cash transfers via the Zambia Integrated Social Protection Information System (ZIPSIS), which is a portal for data management and electronic payments designed to improve administration, planning and transparency in the social cash transfer system.
“The ZISPIS has been piloted in Kitwe and Namwala districts to pay beneficiaries for the January/February and the March/April 2022 payment cycles. In addition, payment of transfers to beneficiaries in the other districts have been processed using the ZISPIS,” Ms Mwamba told MPs.
Upon taking office the New Dawn government made it a stated aim for the social cash transfer program to reach more than one million households – up from 880,539 recipients in August 2021. The value of transfer per household is also being increased by 33%; making it the largest social safety net in the history of Zambia.