By A Corespondent- The government has launched an investigation into the alleged abuse of funds that were availed as safety nets for Covid-19 affected groups after it emerged that government officials, Members of Parliament and civil servants, among them teachers were receiving the money ahead of intended beneficiaries.
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 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.
-Sunday News