Ministry of Gender, Community Development and Social Welfare principal social welfare officer Gilbert Kaponda has encouraged social cash transfer programme beneficiaries in Ntcheu District to invest in children’s education.

He said this on Tuesday during a lean season food insecurity response pay parade programme at Nsiyaludzu Cluster in Senior Chief Makwangwala in the district.

Kaponda said poverty reduction is among the programme’s major objectives and cited investing in children’s education as one way of achieving the goal.

People queue to receive their money

He said: “If beneficiaries are to reduce poverty, they should support children to attain education which will empower them to break the cycle of poverty in their areas.

“I commend people of Ireland for supporting the programme in Ntcheu District. I can see that, among others, the programme has improved people’s livelihoods.”

Ntcheu is one of the districts affected by the 2023/24 food deficit. At least 33 556 households, including 14 354 social cash transfer programme beneficiaries, are food-insecure, according to the 2023 Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee Report. 

To cushion the beneficiaries from hunger, they got an addition of K50 000 on top of their regular stipend for December and January.

Embassy of Ireland social protection adviser Phina Rocha said the embassy started supporting the programme in Ntcheu in 2018 and assured beneficiaries of continued support.

“The Irish Embassy will continue supporting the programme through the Multi-Donor Trust Fund, via the National Local Government Finance Committee,” she said.

Rocha said the Irish people would like to see beneficiaries get their money every month and assured the people of that commitment.

One of the beneficiaries, Robert Lawrence from Balaka Village, said the additional K50 000 will help them to buy food in the lean season and pay fees for his children.

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