Move Presidential fund to Community Development-ZCSD

Mon, 05 Dec 2016 10:16:30 +0000

THE Presidential Empowerment Initiative Fund should be transferred to the Ministry of Community Development and Social Welfare for smooth administration of the funds, the Zambia Council for Social Development (ZCSD) has suggested. ZCSD executive director Lewis Mwape said, “It is important to invest in institutions and not in individuals.”  He said the Presidential Empowerment programme should be transferred to the Ministry of Community Development and Social Welfare as a supplement to the Social Cash Transfer and other social protection schemes that have been put in place. Mr Mwape said that way the fund would be meaningful and reach people in Luwingu, Mporokoso and other rural areas and benefit the right people. He appealed to Government to rescind the way people were empowered so that it would not appear as if politics dominated development, saying ‘‘development should be development and people should freely and easily access social protection services’’. “The Presidential Empowerment Fund should not just be restricted to Kitwe or Chingola, it should reach other remote places because already we have seen that it is not reaching other places,’’ he said. And Luwingu district commissioner Patrick Chanda appealed to President Edgar Lungu and national patron of the Presidential Empowerment programme, Chanda Kabwe, to remember the people of Luwingu and take the initiative to the area for the benefit of the locals who were lacking financial capital. Mr Chanda said lack of financial capital was disadvantaging people in the area as no marketeer had benefited from the Presidential Empowerment Fund from the time the programme was launched. “Our marketeers are still appealing to the President for the Presidential Empowerment Fund; a lot of people had applied and they showed commitment but so far none of them has received any money from the programme,” he said.