Without revealing names, sources said some MPs and civil
servants allegedly connived with officials from the Department of Social
Welfare to register as vulnerable people in order to access the money.
To mitigate the effects of Covid-19, the Government availed
funds under different categories that were meant to help businesses and
individuals affected by the pandemic.
As part of the programme was the $17 million fund which was
meant to assist Small to Medium Enterprises (SME) and the $20 million for
Sports and Arts sectors as part of the Covid-19 stimulus and recovery package,
among others.
The Government has also been paying selected vulnerable
families through the Department of Social Welfare $1 500 per month to cushion
them from the effects of the pandemic and lockdown.
However, it has emerged that some Government officials who
were in charge of distributing the money registered themselves and their
relatives to benefit from some facilities, drawing the attention of top
Government officials.
Local Government and Public Works Minister Cde July Moyo
confirmed that a random check with the Department of Social Welfare revealed
that senior Government officials and civil servants were among beneficiaries of
the monies availed by the Government.
“We probed the Department of Social Welfare on where they
had got names of people who were supposed to benefit from the relief funds
availed by the Government. Some of our own leaders, teachers and Members of
Parliament were on those lists. What we felt was that the officers at the
department were also taking advantage of the situation by also manipulating the
system and if confronted they would finger-point these top officials who appear
on the lists,” he said.
Finance and Economic Development Minister Professor Mthuli
Ncube said he has received complaints about the abuse of the money and an audit
will be carried out.
“This is a scam, we need to access the names of
beneficiaries and compare it with the actual database that is in place at the
Department of Social Welfare and see where the problem is emanating from. The
benefit for vulnerable members of the community started at $300 and we raised
it to $600 and now we are raising it to $1 500. We want our elderly to get this
fund not for them to be cheated out of their benefits,” he said.
In some areas, SMEs who applied for the relief fund failed
to access the money. Minister of Women’s Affairs, Community and Small and
Medium Enterprise Development Dr Sithembiso Nyoni said she has received reports
from SMEs that very few members managed to access the money.
“This cushion was introduced by the President to cushion
SMEs, vendors and the elderly. We asked people to register through their
associations to benefit. All names, however, went through the Department of
Social Welfare.
Everywhere where I am going the real beneficiaries are saying they never received the funds. A large portion is saying they never got the funds. We do hope an investigation will get to the bottom of the matter,” she said.
Minister of State for Bulawayo Provincial Affairs and
Devolution Cde Judith Ncube said retailers in the city were concerned that the
intended beneficiaries were not seemingly the people who benefited.
“We have a big challenge with us, we need proper insight
into this matter and it must be investigated. I was called by a manager at one
retail shop in Bulawayo to observe what was going on, there were very long
queues in their shop at two payment points that were supposed to be assisting
the elderly people who receive this fund. But the manager said they were
shocked to see very youthful people who come monthly to use the funds and not
elderly people,” said Cde Ncube.
She said while the elderly could send other people to buy their groceries, there was a strong suspicion that many undeserving people were benefiting. Sunday News
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