On Monday 23 May, the Deputy Minister of Gender, Community Development & Social Welfare Honourable Agnes Mkusa Nkhoma, MP, was in Mzimba South district to visit the Social Cash Transfers Programme (SCTP).

The Deputy Minister travelled to Mzimba to visit beneficiaries from the SCTP to hear how they have benefited from the programme. She also witnessed live cash transfers, where households were given their cash payments for April-May period. The Deputy Minister was also joined by the German Ambassador who was also touring projects funded by the German Government through KFW and GIZ.

Mzimba district is funded by the European Union. The district started implementing the SCTP in 2014 and made its first transfers delivery in April 2015. Mzimba is a vast district and as such, is operationally divided into two - Mzimba North and Mzimba South - for smooth programme implementation. Mzimba contains about 5% of the total SCTP household beneficiaries and currently has over 14,000 households registered within the SCTP.

Speaking in Mzimba district, the Deputy Minister said the SCTP was key to ending poverty among the ultra-poor in Malawi.

The Deputy Minister also said the Government is aware about the rising cost of living and the need to increase the amount of money beneficiaries receive.