K837 MILLION RELEASED FOR SOCIAL PROTECTION
By Hannock Kasama
The Ministry of Finance has released 837 Million Kwacha for social protection programmes.
Of the amount, 402 Million Kwacha is for the Social Cash Transfer scheme, targeted to raise beneficiaries from over 800 thousand to one million next year.
Two Hundred and 25 Million Kwacha will be expended on pensioners under the Public Service Pension Fund as their contemporaries belonging to the Local Authority Supernuation fund are earmarked to receive 50 Million Kwacha.
One Hundred and 30 million Kwacha will be channelled to the Food Security Pack Programme whose beneficiaries will be scaled up from over 263 thousand to 290 thousand next year.
Secretary to the Treasury FELIX NKULUKUSA has announced the release of the funds in a statement to ZNBC News in LUSAKA today.
Mr. NKULUKUSA says the action has been taken to ensure a sustained protection of the poor, vulnerable and pensioners.
He has tasked all implementing government agencies responsible for the funds to deploy an effective payment system.
Mr. NKULUKUSA says the move will go a long way in relieving the hardships of the vulnerable, poor and retirees.
AND President HAKAINDE HICHILEMA says government has started paying off retirees who spent many years waiting for their pension.
President HICHILEMA says in the 2022 National budget, Government has allocated 2.1 billion Kwacha to dismantle the outstanding arrears.
The President says the UPND’s preoccupation is not the 2026 election, but serving the people of Zambia.
This is according to President HICHILEMA’s Facebook page and monitored by ZNBC News.
As at September 2021, Pension benefits arrears for retired public Service Workers stood at 1.2 billion Kwacha.
This has negatively impacted on livelihoods.
However, to safe guard the livelihoods of retirees, Government will in 2022, dismantle ALL outstanding pension arrears for public service workers and curtail the accumulation of arrears going forward.
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