By: Thaimu Bai Sesay
With support from the Government of Sierra Leone and World Bank, the National Commission for Social Action (NaCSA), has on Wednesday 1st March 2023, confirmed in a press release that plans are at an advanced stage to provide cash support to 35,000 most vulnerable Sierra Leoneans.
The fund set to provide to the 35,000 most vulnerable Sierra Leoneans was provided under the Contingent Emergency Response Component (CERC) of the Productive Social Safety Net and Youth Empowerment Project (PSSNYE) in order to respond to the Socio-economic crisis, worsen by series of stocks including the Russian-Ukraine war.
The National Commission for Social Action (NaCSA) further explained that the category of most vulnerable Sierra Leoneans to be benefitted include Sierra Leoneans from Female headed households, households with persons with disability and elderly headed households across eleven district headquarter towns that never benefitted from similar past interventions in response to COVID 19. According to the press release, the district towns identified to be covered were Kailahun Town, Bonthe Island and Matru, Moyamba Town, Pujehun Town and Waterloo.
Regarding the disbursement processes, NaCSA wished to inform the public that the fund would be reached to the beneficiaries after four regional trainings. The Press Statement notes that the fund, referred to as the third phase of Emergency Cash Transfer (ECT lll), would be implemented in three segments identified as Prelisting and Validation, Verification, and Targeting and Enrolment. In conducting the three segments peacefully, NaCSA assured that it would be in full collaboration with the relevant stakeholders, and went on noting that it had formed a community identification committee, comprising representatives from all the categories of beneficiaries.
NaCSA affirmed that the Prelisting and Validation of potential beneficiaries had commenced across the selected 11 district towns. NaCSA assured that before the implementation of the second phase of Emergency Cash Transfer, the institution had already developed a security management plan in a bit to ensure safeties. NaCSA concluded by admonishing the general public with a strong worded warning not to pay money to anyone in order to be covered by the system. It furthered that any such attempt should be reported to the relevant authorities for punitive actions.