Group Village Head (GVH) Malangano, from Traditional Authority Mwase in Kasungu District speaks highly of social safety net programmes in the country.
GVH Malangano notes that there have been several problems in her area and people are suffering.
She believes that with social support programs people are cushioned from several shocks that affect them individual and at households level.
She says in her area there is usually hunger as not all the people yield enough for their families.
“With social support systems in place there is usually solace as lives are improved and eventually people are saved from hunger,” says GVH Malangano.
The traditional leader is one of those who will benefit from a pilot social support program called Enhanced Public Works Programme (EPWP) which is being implemented in 10 districts including Kasungu.
This is a new approach to the well known PWP implemented under MASAF IV which the Malawi government and partners with support from the National Local Government Finance Committee (NLGFC)have been implementing all along.
Previous approaches to the program revealed too many problems leading to the EPWP as a pilot program which if successful it may be a basis for scaling up to other districts.
According to NLGFC Community Driven Development Specialist who is also the programme’s coordinator Stanley Chuthi says the initial approach to public works proved to be too problematic.
“In the past PWP there was among others prevalence with ghost beneficiaries and Sub – Projects, low compliance to sector technical norms and standards, creation of large unmanageable catchments of over 3000 hectares, limited technical capacity of frontline staff (Extension Workers) and limited monitoring and supervision by the District Environmental Sub Committee (DESC),” he told media practitioners in March in Blantyre during a media training on EPWP.
In Kasungu the preparatory activities have gone on well making headway in the programme according to the program’s district coordinator Chikumbutso Liwonde.
Liwonde says the activities followed all measures that are to be followed in as far as Covid-19 prevention is concerned.
Village Level Action Plan (VLAP) process-which is a plan developed by villagers to address specific issues or concerns of that particular village- has been done and the district is now ready to go into the next stage.
“In the VLAP process sub projects for all five catchment areas in the district have been identified, what remains is for sectors to go and verify the feasibility of the projects,
“The next activity after the sectors have verified the sub projects will be safety nets consolidation,” Liwonde says.
The VLAP process has many benefits as it brings together community members to share ideas and work together on issues that are important to everyone, builds partnerships both within and outside the village, helps communities to identify their strengths and evaluate their own resources and also encourages creative thinking amongst community members.
The process also helps turn community concerns into actions, enables others to become more informed and responsive about what needs to be accomplished and creates sense of commitment, ownership and belonging in the community.
According to Liwonde the district has identified sub-projects such as irrigation, land resources, fisheries, roads and forestry.
With linkages to other programmes like Community Savings and Investment Promotion (COMSIP) the selected beneficiaries in the EPWP will be organized to form village based micro credit and community savings institutions.
For GVH Malangano it will not only be participation but learning and progressive change for positive impact in the area.
Story Credits: Vincent Khonje
