AfricaPress-Tanzania: TANZANIA Social Action Fund (TASAF), will, upon completion of the countrywide verification drive, disburse the four-month lump sum payments to the Productive Social Safety Net (PSSN), beneficiaries.
TASAF Executive Director, Ladislaus Mwamanga said here on Tuesday that the envisaged payments aim at helping the poor households to endure the deadly Corona Virus induced economic shock.
He said the payments under the improved second PSSN of TASAF’s third phase will be effected soon after the countrywide verification to identify genuine beneficiaries.
“After verification, all qualified beneficiaries will receive the four-month payments because we understand that Covid-19 has hit hard poor families,” Mr Mwamanga said at the launch of a two-day awareness training for management and verifiers, hinting that after the lump sum payment, the normal two-month system will be restored.
He implored all beneficiaries to register and acquire the national identities, which will help them to register their mobile phone numbers to receive the payments electronically.
“We are moving from cash to electronic payments…all beneficiaries should have either bank accounts or mobile phone numbers,” he said, adding that the fund’s target is to achieve accountability. Government Affairs Coordination Director in the Second Vice-President’s Office, Khalid Bakar Hamrani challenged the verifiers to perform their duties diligently, cautioning that deceit will be countered mercilessly.
“The government has trusted you for this highly sensitive job please go and perform it diligently and faithfully,” Mr Hamrani told the 150 trainees, mostly from his directorate: “I will have no sympathy with any under-performer.”
He directed all officers to abstain from any corrupt practices and favoritism in performing the job to ensure that only the deserving get registered for the multibillion programme.
The TASAF coordinated poverty alleviation scheme, which President John Magufuli officially launched on February 17, 2020, envisages to spend over 2trin/-in the next four years to rescue majority Tanzanians out of poverty.
Under the scheme, Zanzibar will receive over 21bn/-for Unguja and Pemba-based beneficiaries.
The overall goal of TASAF-PSSN II is to help poor households to use available opportunities to boost their incomes, economy and social services while boosting human development. To reduce extreme poverty and break the intergenerational transmission of poverty, the government created what is known as the Productive Social Safety Net (PSSN).
