30/05/2026
PRESS STATEMENT
(For Immediate Release)
28/05/26
GOVT DELIVERS 200,000 PHONES TO ELDERLY SCT BENEFICIARIES
The Ministry of Community Development and Social Services has commenced the distribution of more than 200,000 feature phones to identified elderly beneficiaries without phones under the Social Cash Transfer (SCT) Programme countrywide.
This intervention forms part of Government’s broader commitment to advancing an inclusive digital transformation agenda aimed at enabling beneficiaries to receive their social cash transfers directly through digital platforms.
Currently, the Social Cash Transfer Programme supports a total of 1,555,840 beneficiary households across 116 districts, of which 89% are already receiving their payments through mobile money platforms and banking systems. The initiative reflects Government’s continued progress towards digitizing social protection services and improving financial inclusion.
The ongoing exercise is expected to further enhance efficiency, accountability, transparency, and convenience in the delivery of social cash transfers nationwide.
The Ministry has prioritized elderly beneficiaries following concerns that many senior citizens continue to face challenges in accessing their cash transfers. In many instances, beneficiaries possess only SIM cards and rely on other people’s mobile phones to verify receipt of funds, a situation that exposes them to inconvenience, dependency, potential exploitation, and the risk of losing SIM cards altogether, which further disrupts their access to payments.
By directly providing mobile phones to beneficiaries, Government seeks to empower vulnerable citizens with secure and reliable access to their funds while promoting financial and digital inclusion, particularly among rural and marginalized communities.
This milestone represents a significant step forward in ensuring that no beneficiary is left behind in Zambia’s digital transformation agenda. It also reinforces Government’s continue
