Minister of Gender Community Development and Social Welfare, Jean Sendeza on Sunday hailed the German government for the support it renders to Malawi through the Social Cash Transfer Programme.
The Minister said this at Mtonga Village in the area of Traditional Authority Salima in Salima district when she, alongside Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development in the German Government, Dr Babel Kofler visited social cash transfer beneficiaries at the village.
“Households which were ultra-poor are now able to do small scale businesses, send their children to school, own livestock and construct houses using proceeds from the programme,” she said.
Sendeza said there was need to link the beneficiaries to other interventions such as the adult literacy programme, extension services and smart agriculture so that their lives can further transform for the better.
In her remarks, Dr. Babel Kofler said she was impressed with the impact the programme is having on communities.
“I am impressed with what I have seen today. The impact is huge, and seeing beneficiaries able to afford basic needs, and even construct modern houses is more than fulfilling,” she said.
Kofler pledged her government’s continued support to the programme to improve the wellbeing of the communities.
One of the beneficiaries, Felison Adison, said through the programme, she has managed to buy pigs, goats and a cow. She said she is also able to pay fees for two children who are in college and secondary school respectively.
The Social Cash Transfer Programme in Malawi started in 2006, and Germany started supporting the programme in 2012. Currently, there are 293,135 households benefiting from the programme.