Thu, 15 Jun 2017 10:07:47 +0000
By SANDRA MACHIMA
THE increased social protection funding by Government is a vibrant measure that will reduce poverty levels in the country, Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection (JCTR) social and economic development- programme officer Chanda Chileshe.
Mr Chileshe said Government had put up various measures to fight poverty, one of them was through increased budgetary allocation to social safety nets such as the social cash transfer and public service pension fund amongst others.
He said the budget allocation to the social cash transfer (SCT) programme increased by 83 percent, from K302 million in 2016 to K552 million in 2017, which was from K70 in 2016 to now K90 in 2017.
Mr Chileshe explained that the social cash transfer was aimed at reducing extreme poverty, increase the number of children attending primary school education and reduce the rate of mortality and morbidity among children under-five years old.
“The JCTR credits the move by Government to inject K500 million in social cash transfer this year, and while the amount for social cash transfer may seem small, it may prove a critical source of capital and survival for many households who would otherwise have nothing to fall on,” he said.
The JCTR urged Government to develop transparent and efficient ways of identifying beneficiaries and distributing the funds respectively, saying distribution of the cash transfer had proved to be a challenge, when it comes to identifying and reaching vulnerable households.
And Mr Chileshe said the JCTR Basic needs basket still remains high for most families and the high cost of commodities had continued to deprive families of the required basic needs and nutritious meals they were required to have in a day in order to live a healthy life.
He said despite that, the May 2017 JCTR Basic Needs Basket (BNB) for a family of five living in Lusaka stood at K4, 952.69 which was K20.34 less than the April Basic Needs Basket which was at K4,973. 03, saying that was in line with the Central Statistics Office inflation rate which reduced from 6.7 percent in April to 6.5 percent in May.
He noted that the decrease in the BNB could be attributed to reduced costs in some food items such as beans and kapenta.
