The Ministry of Economic Planning and Development; and Public Sector Reforms says the K20.5 billion urban social cash transfer programme will roll out from January end to March to benefit Covd-19 affected households.
The programme is expected to benefit 185 247 households or 35 percent of the urban population in Blantyre, Lilongwe, Zomba and Mzuzu with each receiving K35 000 per month.
The ministry’s chief economist Bessie Msusa said in an interview yesterday that what remained of the programme, initially scheduled to roll out in June last year at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, was alignment of names of the beneficiaries to their database.
She said: “We had some logistical and minor issues which we had to look into.
“After collecting data of the beneficiaries, we had to ensure that they meet the criteria that we were looking for and this certainly took time.”
Msusa said the ministry will be spending K6.8 billion monthly, which translates to over K20.5 billion for three months and will be supplemented by development partners.
She said the programme aims at helping households to meet their basic needs and also to recover from the effects of the coronavirus restrictions.
“The targeting of beneficiaries focused on hotspots in disadvantaged locations, for instance, Mtandire in Lilongwe where most petty traders live,” said Msusa.
In its recent Malawi Economic Monitor, the World Bank highlighted the need for the Malawi government to pay attention to poverty reduction policies such as social cash transfers as a means of reducing poverty levels and fiscal challenges, which have been worsened by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The bank said the social cash transfers—social welfare services provided by government and other non-State actors—could help people escape extreme poverty, close the poverty gap and reduce inequality as well as build household resilience to respond to shocks across the life cycle, which is key to building human capital.
Chamber for Small-scale Business Association secretary general James Chiutsi said yesterday the initiative will go a long way in alleviating challenges faced by small-scale businesses in view of the Covid-19 pandemic.
He said: “This is a positive and commendable development which we have been waiting for since last year when the effects of the pandemic reached their peak.
“We, however, appreciate government’s efforts. As it is, it would also be necessary to ensure that the targeted recipients do actually benefit.”
On his part , Blantyre Market vendors chairperson Asante Chigwaza said although the waiver may assist businesses, it does not go far enough to ease challenges faced by small-scale businesses.
Over time, national poverty has remained high and persistent, declining only marginally from 52.4 percent to 50.7 percent between 2004 and 2010. Urban poverty reduced by eight percent during this period.
