Conditional cash transfers (CCTS) refers to a form of funding by the government or other humanitarian agencies whereby the fund donated must be used to finance a predetermined undertaking (Fiszbein et al, 2009, pp. 31). In Conditional cash transfers, money has to be spent for the intended purpose and only those who have been approved to meet the predetermined requirements receive such cash. This means that the recipient of the cash has to be vetted thoroughly and their actions determined before getting the cash.
Programs funded through conditional cash transfers include funding education for arginalized, buying food for those facing hunger, funding medical checkups ailments and providing housing to those hit by a catastrophe or disaster among others (Fiszbein et al, 2009, pp. 48) It is worth noting that conditional cash transfers are gaining popularity recently and many welfare programs are becoming purpose-oriented. Governments and humanitarian donors currently prefer giving funding on condition that the money given will be used for the intended purpose. This means that if the money is intended to finance the girl child education, it has to be used towards that purpose.
Using the given money for the unintended purpose is a violation of the agreement and can result in funding being canceled. More so, those getting the finances have to satisfy the requirements of those giving the funds and prove that they are genuine recipients of such funds. Although conditional cash transfers are unpopular in countries in Africa, where the need for humanitarian support is necessary, these programs have made tremendous progress in some countries in South America such as Brazil, Nicaragua, Mexico, Honduras and Chile among others (Fiszbein et al, 2009, pp. 4).
However, pilot studies are being conducted to determine the effectiveness of conditional cash transfer programs in Africa. The Advantages of Conditional Cash Transfers Conditional cash transfers have proved to be effective in several countries in South America where they have been used for several years to eradicate poverty and improve the lives of the people. Although there are many criticisms that the money spent on conditional cash transfers can be used in other development projects that are more beneficial to the people, CCT has proven to be a successful approach to eradicating overty without the beneficiaries having to wait for many years. Reports from countries where conditional cash transfer programs have been implemented in the past shows that CCTS are very successful (Fiszbein et al, 2009, pp. 27). The following are some of the key benefits associated with conditional cash transfers.
1. Funding goes to the intended purpose. Unlike in unconditional cash transfers where the government or the donor who is giving funding does not care much whether the money will be used for the intended purpose, accountability is essential when it comes to conditional cash transfer. Money is only transferred after verifying the actions of the receiver, relative to the intended purpose of the funding. For instance, if the money is intended to promote the education of a girl child, receivers of such funds have to prove that they have girl children going to school who require being supported (Fiszbein et al, 2009, pp. 46)
2. Conditional cash transfers have more impact on the life of the receiver. Unlike in unconditional cash transfers where the impacted of the money might not have a substantial impact on the life of the receiver, CCTS are custom-made to olve certain problems faced by the receiver in the quickest way possible.
3. Conditional cash transfers prevent misappropriation of funds. Unlike in unconditional cash transfers whereby little emphasis is put on how the receiver of the money uses it, those who receive funding through conditional cash transfers have to be accountable and prove that they genuinely deserve the funding. More so, the beneficiaries of the funding are given real money to spend by themselves. This is better than in a situation where money is given to a few individuals to finance a certain community rogram and end up embezzling it to satisfy their individual interests.
4. The dignity of the recipient is protected. It is worth noting that cash recipients under CCTS are not required to queue publicly to benefit from the funds. Those who qualify for the funding are determined by external actors in the best way possible to protect the dignity of the beneficiaries (Fiszbein et al, 2009, pp. 66) Why conditional cash transfers are beneficial to the people It is worth noting that the receivers of conditional cash transfers have to meet the pre-determined conditions in order to qualify for the funding.
This indirectly motivates the recipients of such funds to adhere to the requirements so that they can benefit from the funding. Subsequently, conditional cash transfers result in numerous benefits that include the following.
1. Access to quality education- if the funding money is intended to finance school attendance by children in a certain area. The people living in that locality are encouraged to take their children to school so that they can benefit from the funds (Fiszbein et al, 2009, pp. 16) 2. People find the need to get medical checkups- In a situation where the funding goal is to ake sure people have obtained medical checkups or a vaccination against certain diseases, people in the targeted area will make sure they have obtained the required health care services so that they can benefit from the funding. 3. People will eat healthy foods and have healthy lifestyles – in a situation where the condition for funding is to eat a healthy diet and have healthy lifestyles, people will be encouraged to adhere to such requirements so that they can qualify for the funding.
4. People will get empowered- in a situation where the condition is to empower people and eradicate poverty, people will engage in ncome generating programs so that they can qualify for the funding (Fiszbein et al, 2009, pp. 65) Generally, conditional cash transfers serve as motivating factors to the members of the society so that they can behave and act in a certain manner. Unlike in the case of unconditional cash transfers where the targeted group will receive cash irrespective of how they are going to use it, CCTS are goal oriented and the funding is aimed to solve certain problems in society either in the short term or long term. In other words, with conditional cash transfers people will benefit in one way or another considerably.
Hindrances to conditional cash transfers Although conditional cash transfer programs have proven to be very helpful in many parts of the world, there are several factors that can make these programs fail or be terminated. Some of the key barriers to the success of conditional cash transfers include external factors, distrust by the targeted groups, logistical problems and exclusions of the people who are supposed to be the beneficiaries. Some of the external factors that can be a barrier to conditional cash transfers include changes in regime, changes in the program dministration and natural disasters among others (Fiszbein et al, 2009, pp. 63).
Additionally, if the administrators of the program cannot identify the real people who need funding or if the targeted people fail to embrace the initiative, a conditional cash transfer program is likely to fail. It is also worth noting that conditional cash transfer programs require extensive monitoring and evaluation than unconditional cash transfer programs. This means that conditional cash transfers are likely to fail if the administrators of the program fail to monitor them adequately.