GOVERNMENT’e electronic division, Smart Zambia Institute believes the introduction of a national digital identity system will make it harder for well-paid individuals to falsely qualify for social support programmes meant for the less privileged.
Smart Zambia National Coordinator Percy Chinyama said the new digital ID ecosystem will allow authorities to match citizens’ income and benefits data, closing loopholes that currently allow ineligible individuals to receive assistance.
“It will be very hard for someone who is earning a good income to pretend they are not earning and still access voluntary government support,” Chinyama said during a media brief yesterday.
He said the current system relies on fragmented data and manual verification processes, which create opportunities for abuse in programmes such as cash transfers and subsidies.
Government chief technical officer Kasali Musenge said digitisation has already helped reduce double dipping in agricultural and social protection programmes by enabling cross-checking of beneficiaries.
She noted that digital payment systems and integrated databases have saved the country billions of kwacha annually by eliminating fraudulent claims and duplicate beneficiaries.
The digital ID, once implemented, is expected to further strengthen these controls by linking citizens’ financial, tax and social protection records into a single secure identity framework.
Government plans to issue four million digital IDs by 2030, under the Digital Zambia Acceleration Project, funded with US$100 million support from the World Bank to expand digital infrastructure and e-government services.
Kalemba March 25, 2026
