PUBLIC Service, Labour and Social Welfare secretary Clemence Masanga yesterday said his ministry was facing difficulties in identifying vulnerable people to benefit from government social grants.
By Harriet Chikandiwa
Presenting oral evidence in Parliament, Masanga also revealed that the country was facing serious shortages of social workers to work in quarantine centres and would soon press the Public Service Commission to recruit more.
Masanga told the committee that the lockdown resulted in a number of people losing their sources of income, especially those in the informal sector, hence government introduced a programme to give people money, but his ministry was facing challenges in identifying beneficiaries.
He said the money they were giving to the vulnerable came from Treasury.
“The money we are giving to the vulnerable is coming from Treasury, $2,4 billion was availed by the Ministry of Finance to cater for the vulnerable since the beginning of the lockdown,” Masanga said.
He also said that the ministry was having challenges in distributing maize grain in Harare.
“Most of the informal sector have not been paid or received grain because the names, phone numbers and addresses we received had many errors, so the funds could not go to the targeted individuals, we are opting for biometric registration.”
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
Government was supposed to give $200 each to those deemed vulnerable, but two months after the lockdown, very few had accessed the money that continues to lose value as a result of the continued fall of the local currency. The $200 is now worth less than US$2,50 on the black market.
Masanga disclosed that government was looking for other alternative places to be used as quarantine centres as schools and tertiary colleges currently being used for the purpose were set to reopen soon.
Government has been using schools and colleges to quarantine returnees in order to curb the spread of COVID-19.
“We are now looking at alternatives because schools are now opening, we have engaged Zesa Training Centre and PTC to offer facilities. We will try to identify alternative centres to put people in quarantine,” Masanga said.
He said so far, there had been over 8 853 returnees and more than 300 people will be arriving from Miami and government was doing all within its capacity to meet the World Health Organisation regulations at quarantine centres.
Masanga said government had established over 50 quarantine centres across the country.
