The grants comprise US$80 million for the Governance to Enable Service Delivery (GESD) Project and US$50 million for the Transforming High-Potential Resilient Value Chains Project. Presenting the bills in Parliament, Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Decentralisation Joseph Mwanamvekha said the GESD Project would enhance service delivery by improving financial management and governance at local authority level. Under the new arrangement, district councils that participated in the previous GESD Project, which ended on June 30, 2026, will continue receiving performance-based grants. On the financing side, the project will establish a Partial Credit Guarantee Fund to encourage commercial banks to lend to firms operating in export value chains. Speaking during debate, Shadow Minister of Finance Peter Dimba supported the two bills, describing the GESD programme as a “game changer” for local governance.