adminThe six-member delegation from Harare met residents and other stakeholders in Old Magwegwe where residents demanded transparency in the administration of the funds.
The funding is availed by the Government under the Harmonised Social Cash Transfer Scheme (HSCTC) and targets about 300 000 economically disadvantaged households countrywide.
Beneficiaries are supposed to receive monthly grants of between $10 and $25.
Speaking during the meeting, the residents questioned the vetting procedure and alleged that the process was plagued with rampant corruption.
The residents argued that a majority of deserving beneficiaries were being left out.
They complained that the Ministry had brought in people from Harare to vet them yet they were not aware of their problems.
“This programme is only benefiting the rich, many of us here were not included yet those with means, some of them kombi operators, benefited. This is why we requested that you come and explain this to us,” fumed an old man from the floor.
An old woman who said she was looking after three orphans said none of her grandchildren was included in the programme.
“Sometimes we wonder if this programme is really meant to assist us. When it was announced, we thought our plight had been heard but to our surprise, things are getting worse. We are not even getting any grants and this money is not coming,” she said.
Others said the system, which allowed anyone to collect the money on behalf of the beneficiary, was open to abuse as it did not have enough checks and balances.
Some residents expressed shock that such a programme was in existence and castigated the Ministry for not giving them adequate information about the scheme.
The residents said this was open to manipulation by fraudsters.
“These are social funds that should be given to all deserving residents in the city. We wonder why it is kept a secret and only a handful are benefiting,” said Mr Samuel Moyo, the secretary-general of the Bulawayo United Residents’ Association.
Ward 14 Councillor Phinias Ndlovu who also attended the meeting challenged Ministry officials to be professional when executing their duties.
Owing to the concerns over the running of the fund, the Bulawayo Progressive Residents’ Association (BPRA) wrote a letter to the Government condemning the manner in which the scheme was managed.
In some wards beneficiaries were reportedly being asked to pay five rand to be considered for the process as well as $2 membership fees for a residents’ association.
Old and disabled beneficiaries were also reportedly being asked to pay money for the collection of their benefits by someone they would have sent.
Responding to residents’ concerns, one of the officials, who is also the national coordinator for the National Action Plan for Orphans and Vulnerable Children, Mr Leon Muwoni, acknowledged that poor information dissemination had caused speculation and manipulation of the process.
“This meeting was called by beneficiaries and other residents so that we can explain the programme. We are here to address problems faced by residents, which include alleged cases of corruption and nepotism by people from the Child Protection Committees (CPCs),” said Mr Muwoni.
He said the proxy was supposed to be a listed beneficiary who would collect the money and deliver it in totality.
Mr Muwoni also said members of the CPCs who are the focal point persons for beneficiaries are not supposed to be paid any extra money for coordinating beneficiaries as they receive an allowance for their work.
He urged stakeholders to work together to stamp out the corrupt tendencies in the running of the programme and warned that perpetrators will be arrested.
“We have received cases of members of the child protection committees asking for bribes of about $20 from would-be beneficiaries for them to have access to beneficiary cards,” he said.
“Such cases must be reported to the police. Those who lost money will be reimbursed.
Beneficiaries should make sure that they check and sign for the right amounts of money. Plans are under way to come up with a beneficiary identification card to easily identify beneficiaries.”
Mr Muwoni said the programme was meant to benefit all vulnerable children and orphans regardless of political, religious or residential association affiliation.
BPRA coordinator Mr Rodrick Fayayo said at some point the matter was taken to the police to investigate possible fraudulent conduct by perpetrators.
He commended the Ministry for responding to residents’ concerns.
The delegation had come to ascertain the background of complaints raised by residents over the funds and to explain how it should be implemented.
Yesterday the team visited Matabeleland North Province.
The HSCTC was introduced early this year when Government set aside about $45 million for the pilot initiative.
At the moment beneficiaries from six wards in Bulawayo have been enrolled in the programme.
These are Wards 8, 14, 18, 19, 27 and 29.
The scheme was mooted after realisation that hundreds of senior citizens in the country never worked in the formal sector and had no access to pension funds.
The scheme is being run under the National Action Plan for Orphaned and Vulnerable Children with assistance from the Child Protection Fund.
The programme is expected to run until 2015 when it will be rolled over to all the country’s districts.
Mangwe and Umguza are some of the districts earmarked in the pilot project.
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter