Government has assured the public that it will continue to prioritise social protection by increasing budgetary allocations to support more vulnerable people of society.
Eastern Province Deputy Permanent Secretary Lewis Mwape says government is aware that about 9.8 million people in Zambia deserve the Social Cash Programme.
Dr Mwape said this translated to about 42 percent of Zambia’s population who were facing extreme poverty.
He said the government was working tirelessly to reduce poverty.
He called on stakeholders to join hands with government in poverty reduction.
“Let’s work together and ensure that we transform the economy, make it more functional translating to more resources under social protection and this is how we will reduce poverty levels,” he called on stakeholders.
This came to light during the validation of the findings of the report on drought Impact Assessment of Social Cash Programmes in Chipata.
And CSPR Economic Governance Lead Emmanuel Zulu said the drought impact assessment and Social Accountability Monitoring of Social Cash Programmes was conducted in Selected Wards in Chipata for a period of 1 year.
Mr Zulu said the assessment done in 2023-2024 had participants of over 1500 beneficiaries who were interviewed.
He mentioned that one of the issues which was still a concern from the public was transparency around targeting of beneficiaries.
Mr Zulu stated that while the government was systematically rolling out the Emergency Social Cash and the Wetland Food Security Pack, a sustainable solution must be found to effectively reduce poverty.
Mr Zulu said the assessment was a response to the drought that was experienced in 2024.
“The assessment looked at three Social Protection programmes including the emergency social Cash Transfer, Cash for work, and the Wetland Food security pack,” he mentioned.
Mr Zulu acknowledged that while it was implemented, the transfer value was also part of the issues that was raised in terms of its sufficiency to have an impact in reducing poverty among citizens.
