Some Social Cash Transfer ( SCT ) fund beneficiaries in Mambwe district of Eastern Province, have proposed that the amount gets adjusted in line with the current economic hardships.
Spokesperson for the beneficiaries in the area Alex Liyonda, says while he appreciates government’s assistance to vulnerable people around the country through the SCT , the amount each beneficiary household is receiving is no longer adequate in face of the prevailing social-economic challenges in the country.
Mr. Liyonda , a resident of Liyonda Village, explains that the K800 bi -monthly payment he was getting, for example, is no longer enough to sustain his household, especially that he is psycho-socially challenged who has no other sources of income.
The SCT beneficiary, however advised the Social Welfare Department to be consistent in paying the Social Cash Transfer beneficiaries.
“What we know is that we are supposed to get paid every two months. However, there are times when we receive payments in the third month and this is not helpful especially to people who have no other source of income,” he said.
Another beneficiary, Elvis Phiri, of Chitilila Village appealed to the Department of Social Welfare in Mambwe district to establish a nearby pay- point station for residents coming from Chitilila.
Mr. Phiri observed that people in his area trek distances of close to eight kilometers to reach Katemo where the pay point station is, whenever beneficiary payments were being made.
And Mercy Kumwenda, a beneficiary from Katemo, said due to mobile network connectivity in the area SCT beneficiaries were experiencing difficulties in having their particulars uploaded a situation she said was inconveniencing and time wasting.
Mrs. Kumwenda has since appealed to mobile service providers to improved their network connectivity by installing more communication towers in under-served and unserved areas.
She added that beneficiaries meet at one point along the road to receive their payments which was risky as they can be attacked by robbers.
SCT Beneficiaries falling under the Disabled category receive K800 bi-monthly payments, while other categories which include the old age, female-headed households, child- headed households and the chronically ill and on palliative care receive K400 bi-monthly payments.
