By SIMON MUNTEMBA
THE United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has pledged to offer more technical and financial support to help the Government in actualising the implementation of the Constituency Development Fund (CDF on development strategies aimed at reducing poverty in communities, Resident Representative in Zambia, Lionel Laurens has said.
Mr Laurens said the increased allocation in CDF was a strategic game-changer in improving the livelihood of millions of Zambians and getting them out of poverty.
He was speaking in Lusaka yesterday when he paid a courtesy call on the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Gary Nkombo, to discuss issues of bilateral cooperation.
Mr Laurens said UNDP is delighted with the decision by the new dawn administration to increase the CDF to K25.7 million per constituency in this year’s national budget from a paltry K1.6 million which will provide adequate resources to carry out various projects identified by communities.
He said UNDP was ready to offer more technical and financial support to help the government in actualising the implementation of CDF on development strategies aimed at reducing poverty in communities.
Mr Laurens said UNDP was keen to ensure Zambia attains more meaningful development that meets the needs of the people at community levels.
In response, Mr Nkombo implored cooperating partners to support the government in creating more economic opportunities to reduce vulnerabilities in communities.
He said CDF is one mechanism to generate unprecedented levels of social economic development to meet citizens’ needs as each community will have a say in what their development priorities would be.
Mr Nkombo said the government is also implementing stringent measures to public resources are utilised effectively to meet the citizens.
Author
