By Angela Moonga
The Ministry of Community Development and Social Services has distributed 200,000 feature phones to identified elderly beneficiaries to empower them with secure and reliable access to their Social Cash Transfer funds.
Ministry of Community and Social Services principle public relations officer Glenda Nachinga stated that the government was seeking to empower vulnerable citizens with secure and reliable access to their funds while promoting financial and digital inclusion, particularly among rural and marginalized communities.
“This intervention forms part of Government’s broader commitment to advancing an inclusive digital transformation agenda aimed at enabling beneficiaries to receive their social cash transfers directly through digital platforms,” Nachinga stated. “Currently, the Social Cash Transfer Programme supports a total of 1,555,840 beneficiary households across 116 districts, of which 89% are already receiving their payments through mobile money platforms and banking systems. The initiative reflects Government’s continued progress towards digitizing social protection services and improving financial inclusion.”
She stated that the ongoing exercise was expected to further enhance efficiency, accountability, transparency, and convenience in the delivery of social cash transfers nationwide.
Nachinga stated that the Ministry has prioritized elderly beneficiaries following concerns that many senior citizens continued to face challenges in accessing their cash transfers.
“In many instances, beneficiaries possess only SIM cards and rely on other people’s mobile phones to verify receipt of funds, a situation that exposes them to inconvenience, dependency, potential exploitation, and the risk of losing SIM cards altogether, which further disrupts their access to payments,” stated Nachinga. “By directly providing mobile phones to beneficiaries, Government seeks to empower vulnerable citizens with secure and reliable access to their funds while promoting financial and digital inclusion, particularly among rural and marginalized communities..This milestone represents a significant step forward in ensuring that no beneficiary is left behind in Zambia’s digital transformation agenda. It also reinforces Government’s continued commitment to delivering inclusive and equitable social protection services for all citizens.
