Local government minister, Sialubalo, urges councils to step up recovery of CDF empowerment loans

Local Government and Rural Development Minister, Gift Sialubalo, has called on councils nationwide to become more proactive in recovering Constituency Development Fund (CDF) empowerment loans, stressing that the facility must operate as a sustainable revolving fund benefiting all Zambians. Speaking in Luwingu shortly after commissioning five staff houses built using CDF resources at Saili Day Secondary School, Sialubalo said beneficiaries were expected to repay the loans to ensure the continued availability of funds for other citizens requiring capital support. “The government introduced the CDF Empowerment Loan Facility to enable youths, women, and small-scale entrepreneurs to access capital at minimal interest rates so they can expand their businesses and improve their livelihoods,” he said.

Using Luwingu as an example, Sialubalo illustrated how repayments could significantly expand the funding pool. “Imagine if we say roughly K4 million by five years — that’s K20 million, isn’t it? Imagine Luwingu having K20 million as a revolving fund, kwena kuti mwachula (surely, would you suffer),” he said. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express permission from ZAMBIA MONITOR.