CDF, if well implemented is a game-changer

By Daily Revelation Editor

In our previous edition, we carried a story in which we reported that over 56 sex workers in Kapiri Mposhi have decided to ditch sex work and opted to engage in progressive projects, or rather alternative income generating activities using the Constituency Development Fund (CDF). The sex workers have formed cooperatives and applied for CDF in the constituency so they can better their lives in a much more positive way.

This information was availed during the commemoration of the International AIDS day which falls every year on December 01.

“We are mobilising sex workers taking advantage of the good gesture by our government through CDF. We are encouraging them to apply for CDF. Right now, we have mobilised about 56 sex workers who have made four clubs and their documentation to access CDF is in progress. They indicated that they want to leave sex work,” according to Kapiri Mposhi district HIV/AIDS coordinating adviser, Edwin Sekeyo.

This development is an affirmation of the need for proper and progressive people- centred economic policies. Most of our people are engaged in dangerous activities not by design, but due to poor economic policies or lack of policies that should be centred on improving lives of the ordinary Zambian.

Our women and girls, for instance get exposed to extremely dangerous situations such prostitution, be it sex work or transactional sex, all because of economic hardship or lack of financial capital needed for alternative income generating activities. Similarly, the majority of our youth today engage in life- threatening activities due to financial desperation as their successive governments have failed to offer them better opportunities. We cannot continue, as a country, to expect our women and the youth to access financial capital from Banks and other financial institutions because these institutions offer higher interest rates; they are financial vultures that enslave our people with high interest on loans.

Therefore, the government has a big role to play to liberate our people from all sorts of financial hardships. It is for this reason that we commend the UPND administration for coming up with such a progressive policy of increasing CDF that has now opened doors for our people to access capital to invest and expand their business. Unlike before, CDF is now enhanced and able to meaningfully change the lives of our people at community level; a beacon of hope for many Zambians who have the capacity to use it wisely. Of course, we do understand the imperfections surrounding CDF disbursements, access modalities and utilisation, but, we are also alive to the fact that nothing on earth is 100 percent. Even we human beings are not 100 percent perfect. We all have our own imperfections. But if these hurdles are addressed properly, we have no doubt that CDF is a game changer; a true meaning of economic decentralization for our masses. There is great need for continuous financial and investment in education for our people, especially in rural areas where information is scantly accessible.

Our people need to know that CDF is not government’s money, but their own money and should guard it jealously; use it with utmost care to better their lives.

It is therefore good news to hear about 56 sex workers opting for a different economic pathway of generating income using CDF. This is one model that should be replicated across constituencies. We know that sex workers are everywhere; they have no boundaries. It is incumbent upon all political leaders in respective constituencies to educate their people on how they can access CDF without much difficulty. CDF is not for the rich, but for the downtrodden – meant to uplift the lives of the vulnerable people who cannot afford white-collar jobs.

We therefore urge the government to continue on this trajectory, attend to all impediments so that the majority of our people have access to CDF meant to improve their lives. If this is done, there is a high probability of President Hakainde Hichilema and his administration winning the hearts of the Zambian people.