Communities tout EPWP

Community members in Deya Catchment Area in Kaboko Village, Traditional Authority Kabudula in Lilongwe have commended the Enhanced Public Works Programme (EPWP) being implemented in the area.

In an interview, Chitezera Manyetera, a beneficiary, said his life has improved since joining the project.

“Within four months, I have ventured into tea business,” he said.

Manyetera said he received K21 600 in the project’s first phase and invested K10 000 in the tea room business.

“I also bought a bag of fertiliser under the Affordable Input Programme and used the remainder to buy a bag of maize,” he said.

Another beneficiary, Howard Genesis, 56, said he bought chickens to start poultry farming.

“I also plan to grow vegetables for sale,” he said.

Deya Catchment Area chairperson Phillip Fuliyani said there are 200 beneficiaries in the catchment area.

“EPWP has brought people together and they work without being forced by leaders,” he said.

EPWP is under the extended phase of Malawi Social Action Fund IV Project.

The project is a successor of the Public Works Programme and its interventions focus on water and natural resources management and environmental conservation.

EPWP is being piloted in Phalombe, Blantyre, Chiradzulu, Balaka, Lilongwe, Dowa, Kasungu, Nkhotakota, Chitipa and Karonga selected based on poverty levels, food security, degree of land degradation and the availability of the Unified Beneficiary Registry data.