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Minister Mupfumira

Pamela Shumba  Senior Reporter
THE government will soon address irregularities noted by the Auditor-General, Mildred Chiri in the disbursement of the Basic Education Assistance Module (Beam) money, Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Minister Prisca Mupfumira has said. In a recent report, the auditor general revealed that due to bungling, more than $2 million meant for education assistance from donors was not utilised, prejudicing thousands of poor pupils.

The audit also noted that several undeserving pupils, including those whose parents are rich, had their school fees paid under Beam ahead of vulnerable and orphaned children.

Minister Mupfumira said officials from her ministry, would work with officials from the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education to make sure that the scheme is not abused.

“I’m concerned about reports that the Beam scheme is being abused in various parts of the country yet this is a scheme that was established to help out under-privileged children. We’ve therefore embarked on an assessment programme, where our officials will visit schools and vigorously inspect whether those who are benefiting from Beam really deserve to be beneficiaries. We want to make sure that only deserving children benefit from the Beam scheme,” said Minister Mupfumira.

She said the government was also working closely with organisations such as Unicef and DFID for financial assistance to ensure that there is adequate funds for Beam.

“The government is unable to fully fund the scheme due to financial challenges. We’ve, however, received tremendous support from donors and hope they will continue to fund the scheme for the benefit of the underprivileged children in the country,” said the minister.

“The government continues to value education. It’s our wish to see all the children going to school regardless of their financial status.”
In her report, Chiri, said during the era of the inclusive government, the then Ministry of Labour and Social Services that was under the MDC-T’s Paurina Mpariwa failed to properly supervise the funds.

Chiri noted that from 2009 to 2012, of the  $45 million funds made available, $43 million was utilised leaving $2 million dormant, a situation which saw donors retaining their money.

It was also realised that if the unutilised balance for 2009 and 2010 had been claimed by primary schools in rural areas charging $15 per term, 9,670 and 35, 693 children would have benefited for the two years respectively.