Govt finalises preparations for TASAF Phase III

DODOMA: THE government is finalising preparations for the Third Phase of the Tanzania Social Action Fund (TASAF), aimed at strengthening social protection systems following the completion of Phase Two of the Productive Social Safety Net (PSSN-II).

Deputy Minister of State in the President’s Office (Public Service Management and Good Governance), Ms Regina Qwaray, told the National Assembly in Dodoma on Monday that the launch of PSSN-III reaffirms the government’s commitment to sustaining TASAF as a strategic tool for implementing the National Social Protection Policy (2023), Vision 2050 and other medium- and long-term development plans.

“In this phase, focus will be placed on supporting households to graduate, attain economic self-reliance, secure employment and integrate into mainstream government service systems,” she said.

The Deputy Minister was responding to a basic question by Lulindi MP Issa Mchungahela (CCM), who sought clarification on the future direction of TASAF. In a supplementary question, the lawmaker reminded the government of its pledge to use TASAF data in the initial rollout of the Universal Health Insurance (UHI) pilot programme and asked what progress had been made.

Responding, Ms Qwaray said data from the 2022 Population and Housing Census identified more than 3.9 million poor households nationwide, of which 931,000 have already been verified and included in the national database. She said a total of 276,000 households have so far been incorporated into the first phase of UHI implementation, while the government continues to screen and validate additional poor households eligible for inclusion.

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In another supplementary question, an MP asked why some beneficiaries were being removed from TASAF under the ‘graduation’ criteria while they remained extremely poor, and whether the government intended to revise the requirement. Ms Qwaray said government support to poor households remains consistent, explaining that cash transfers are designed to serve as seed capital for strengthening livelihoods.

“In implementing PSSNII, the government prioritised empowering poor households to become economically independent. The funds provided are intended to help families stabilise and grow, while we also link them to municipal loans, entrepreneurship training and productive resources,” she explained.

She added that before any household is declared to have graduated from the programme, the government conducts a thorough assessment to confirm that it is indeed able to sustain itself without falling back into poverty