By CHUSA SICHONE –
THE Ministry of Finance has announced that more than K3.9 billion has been provided in the 2018 Budget for empowerment programmes under various ministries and Government spending agencies, with K1.78 billion allocated for the Farmer Input Support Programme Electronic Voucher System for one million beneficiaries.
The move is in line with the Government’s economic transformation agenda to respond to requests by citizens for information on empowerment programmes in the 2018 Budget, which provided practical measures to diversify the economy, create jobs, reduce poverty, empower citizens, protect the vulnerable and reduce inequalities.
Ministry of Finance head of media and public relations Chileshe Kandeta said in a statement yesterday that the K3.9 billion was in addition to some ongoing programmes facilitated through foreign financing like the US$50 million Zambia Agriculture Enterprise Development Fund.
Mr Kandeta also said that of the K3.9 billion, K557 million was meant for student loans and scholarships, K218.4 million going towards the Constituency Development Fund, while K176 million was for the Skills Development Fund.
Mr Kandeta said K48.2 million was allocated to the Ministry of Youth and Sport for the Action Plan for Empowerment Programme, the Citizens Economic Empowerment Commission got K42.7 million as Citizens Economic Empowerment Fund, K38 million for the Agriculture and Industrial Credit Fund and for Support to Agro Business and K12.5 million for the Women Empowerment Programme under the Ministry of Gender for 30,000 beneficiaries who will be empowered with productive grants and micro credit countrywide.
Other beneficiaries were the Ministry of Defence, which received K16 million for youth skills training, development, & empowerment programmes, K75.5 million educational support and grants in collaboration with the World Bank targeting 16,000 girls from extremely poor households in 16 districts and a further 75,000 women with grants in 51 districts while K721 million went to the Ministry of Community Development for the Social Cash Transfer Scheme targeting 700,000 beneficiaries.
Mr Kandeta said further that K16 million was given to the Ministry of Community Development for the Public Welfare Assistance Scheme to enable 200,000 beneficiaries to have access to education and healthcare, K140 million for the Food Security Pack for 80,000 vulnerable but viable farmers, K39.5 million under Ministry of Education for the School Feeding Programme for 1.5 million beneficiaries.
Meanwhile, Mr Kandeta said Minister Finance Margaret Mwanakatwe yesterday morning reiterated that the launch of the Seventh National Development Plan in 2017 renewed Zambia’s commitment to the attainment of the Vision 2030 goal of being a prosperous middle income country and affirmed that there was need to learn from the country’s past challenges in managing empowerment funds if the country was to have to charter the desired path to a bright destination for all beneficiaries.