Communities around Dema micro-catchment in Nkhotakota have hailed the National Local Government Finance Committee (NLGFC) for introducing voluntary community contribution in the pilot Enhanced Public Works Programme (EPWP).

Speaking with NLGFC Newsletter, Land Resources Conservation Officer in Nkhotakota Arthur Chiwayula, said, the idea of working voluntarily on EPWP sub projects by members of the community was positively welcomed.

He added that, apart from working for 12 days in a month, beneficiaries in the pilot EPWP project and community members also work for an additional 5 days as community contribution.

Chiwayula indicated that beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries in communities surrounding Dema catchment are happily working for these extra 5 days in a month on EPWP sub projects.

In these 5 days of their contribution towards the project, communities work on afforestation, swales construction, checkdams construction and planting of vertiver grass on the contour ridges among others.

Community Driven Development Specialist (CDDS) at NLGFC, Mr. Stanley Chuthi, said that EPWP was deliberately designed to include the element of community contribution in the implementation of sub projects because that is the only way sustainability of community assets created can be achieved.

“The element of community contribution is important in the pilot EPWP in the sense that it instills the sense of ownership and commitment from beneficiaries and communities supported by the project and it also perceived that it will ensure sustainability of the community assets when the pilot project phases out later in March this year.” He said.

Chuthi also said that introducing a voluntary community contribution in the pilot EPWP project was as a result of lack of sustainable community assets in the productive public works programme under MASAF IV where the assets that were created were not taken care of when the project came to an end.

The pilot Enhanced Public Works Programme (EPWP) is being implemented in 10 districts in the country with funding from the World Bank. The project rolled out in September, 2020 and is expected to end by March 2021.

EPWP adopted Integrated watershed management (IWM) approach, covering sub-projects such as land resource conservation, afforestation, environment, sanitation and road infrastructure, as well as sustainable livelihoods.