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Government increases allocations to street kids in Zambia
07 March 2008
The Zambian government has increased the budgetary allocation to the Street Kids Project from ZMK 6bn last year to ZMK 10bn this year. The increased allocation is due to the good performance of the project through the work of the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services (MCDSS) last year.
The Zambian government has increased the budgetary allocation to the Street Kids Project from ZMK 6bn last year to ZMK 10bn this year. The increased allocation is due to the good performance of the project through the work of the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services (MCDSS) last year.
However, the allocation to the public welfare assistance scheme (PWAS), under which social cash transfers fall, remains the same at ZMK 4bn. MCDSS is now considering diverting some of the Street Kids Project funds to the PWAS or lobbying for more funds elsewhere.
The government has also revised windfall tax for mining companies in Zambia which are expected to be used for the development of infrastructure and the social sector. Many economic and social commentators expect this revenue to raise the living standards of the poor. Although the mining companies are resisting this and threatening to take the government to court – their argument being that the Minister of Finance acted outside the development agreement which was signed over a decade ago – the government has a lot of support for their decision, including from the main opposition party, the Patriotic Front.
In other social protection news, the poverty level figures published by the Central Statistical Office in Zambia have been released and are being contested by Civil Society for Poverty Reduction (CSPR) and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) as a whole. They believe that the actual poverty levels are much higher than what is reflected by the published figures. This calls for close and effective collaboration between CSO and Civil Society in assessing the levels on poverty in the country.
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