KATIMA MULILO  – The Ministry of Gender Equality, Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare has kicked off the registration and re-registration of the Conditional Basic Income Grant (CBIG) at Katima Mulilo, in the Zambezi region.

The exercise that aims to transition from the Food Bank programme to a direct monthly cash transfer of N.dollars 600 to eligible households to support their needs, started on Monday at the Ngweze community hall in the town and will run until 14 December 2024.

The rollout will proceed to the Bukalo Village Council from 16 to 21 December 2024.
Speaking to Nampa, the head of the national delegation to the Zambezi region, Gerson Shaduka said the exercise is going well but full of constraints such as qualifying households versus individual unemployment in those households.

He said in some households, people are totally unemployed and without any source of income and only a mere individual can benefit per household if they meet the requirements as set out in the criteria.

“There were over 800 applicants in the morning but from that number, I can say we have attended to over 400 from who only a minimum of less than a 100 may qualify for the grant because of the set-out requirements,” he said.

According to Shaduka, qualifying households are those without any permanent source of income, households with vulnerable individuals not benefiting from any government social grant, and households benefiting from the orphans and vulnerable children grants not exceeding N.dollars 1 600.

The applicants are required to have identity documents, municipal bills, birth certificates, marriage certificates, permanent residency permits and police declarations for them to be considered while those from unregistered households in the town council are to provide letters from the traditional authorities or landlords.
-Nampa