US$32 FOR URBAN POOR FAMILIES

Poor families in urban areas are to receive cash payouts from the Government, starting next week. The payout will be capped at US$32 for a family with four members. The urban cash transfers programme is expected to run until March next year.

“The cash transfers are projected to start next week if all goes according to plan. As Manicaland, we are done with the selection, and are in the process of validating the compiled lists. As you have seen, some lists have gone beyond the targeted number of beneficiaries, and these are some of the issues that we will be deliberating on with a view to streamline and standardise them in tandem with set beneficiary lists per district,” Mr Tarondwa, acting director (provincial coordinator) in the Office of the President and Cabinet told The Manica Post.

The cash transfers are meant to buy adequate and nutritious food for food insecure labour-constrained households, child, older person, chronically ill, persons with disabilities (PWDs) and female-headed households with high dependency ratio in urban areas; mitigate the effects of drought and other shocks as well as strengthening household economy during the drought period.

The final list of beneficiaries will be shared with mobile money service providers to verify if their given phone numbers are registered to receive cash.

After this verification, a pay sheet will be generated that will be used to transfer cash entitlements into the beneficiaries’ mobile money accounts.

The beneficiaries can cash out their cash entitlements or buy food directly in shops using the mobile money platforms.

The value of transfer for Government is pegged at the current price of 10kg bag of maize-meal per person to match with the FDMS programme disbursements that respond to short-term food insecurity in rural areas.

The transfer amount includes three percent of transfer or handling charges.

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