The Community Driven Development Specialist at the National Local Government Finance Committee, Stanley Tchuti on Thursday disclosed that National Local Government Finance Committee will pilot the electronic mode of payment to beneficiaries of the Enhanced Public Works Program (EPWP).

Tchuti said, that the introduction of e-payment of cash tranfers to EPWP benefiaries will address issues of fraud and ghost workers that the previous public works program encountered.

He said this in Liwonde,when he officially opened a one day Financial Literacy Training of Trainers (ToT) to enlight District Environmental Committee members on the modalities of E-payment.

He said:" We have partnered with the First Capital Bank to help us in the e- payment process  as we noted under the previous public works program that there were more ghost workers and corruption took stage as chiefs could slot in beneficiaries for their benefit.

" We believe that e-payment will root out these challenges including the errors that came about in the process, and the lessons learnt from Balaka will help us during the actual project implementation in all the remaining districts."

According to Tchuti, e-payment will also reduce the burden that the district officials had in carrying huge somes of money going round the communities to do payments to beneficiaries.

"Since EPWP is just a pilot, we will only pilot the electronic payment in Balaka only as we are aware that the district is already implementing the same in the  Social Cash Transfer Program," he added.

He further highlighted that Government will harmonise the e-payment mode in all its safety nets programs in due course.

On her part, Social Cash Transfer Program Manager at the First Capital Bank, Tivota Gondwe said they are ready as they have already opened account numbers for all beneficiaries in Balaka.

" We have managed to open account numbers to all 1000 beneficiaries,what is remaining now is to do the Know Your Customer (KYC) and also to distribute Auto teller Machine (ATM) Cards to the beneficiaries.

" When time for the beneficiaries to receive their dues comes, we will be going in the communities at strategic points where beneficiaries will be coming to do their transactions for free on our point of sale machines," she said.

According to Gondwe, if one decides to withdraw their money on the ATM, bank withdraw fee of 300 Kwacha will be met.

Research has shown that the previous public works program could not come up with quality assets and also that poverty levels could not change even though the project has been on the ground for years,thus the introduction of the EPWP.

In the pilot project, beneficiaries will have to work for 12 days and be getting nine hundred kwacha per day.

Story Credit: Mary Makhiringa, District Information Officers, Balaka