Luapula Chamber of Commerce, Immediate past President, Emmanuel Munsanje has rated the uptake of the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) in Luapula Province at six out of ten despite increased allocations.
Speaking in an interview with Zambian Business Times – ZBT, Munsanje said while many youths and community members had benefited from empowerment funds, not everyone had fully implemented the projects they proposed.
A check by the Zambian Business Times – ZBT on the rollout of CDF under the new dawn administration revealed that the fund has expanded from K1.6 million per constituency before 2021 to K25.7 million in 2022, K28.3 million in 2023, K36.1 million in 2024, and now K40 million per constituency in the 2026 national budget.
The expanded fund has since become one of the government’s flagship decentralization programs targeting community projects, youth and women empowerment, bursaries, skills development, rural infrastructure, and small business financing. However, concerns are now emerging in some provinces over repayment culture, project monitoring and whether the rapid expansion of the fund is translating into sustainable economic transformation at the community level.
He told ZBT that while the uptake of the fund in Luapula had generally been positive, implementation gaps remained visible among some beneficiaries. “It has been okay because a lot of people have been applying and they have been getting the CDF, although others are left out, but generally the trend has been very good,” said Munsanje.
He added that the empowerment component had helped uplift some youths and cooperatives through livestock and small business projects across the province. “Those who applied for chickens, we see the chickens; those who applied for goats, we see them and many other businesses, so it has really pushed a lot of people from where they were to the current position,” he said.
Meanwhile, Munsanje disclosed that repayment of empowerment loans still faced challenges, partly driven by political perceptions surrounding election cycles, although authorities were reportedly pushing beneficiaries to repay gradually. “People sometimes think maybe the government will change after elections and become reluctant to pay back, but authorities are pressing them, and they are paying little by little,” he said.
Article Phillip Sinkala
