Source: Ghost war vets’ children unearthed in fees scam – Sunday News Nov 6, 2016
Robin Muchetu, Senior Reporter
MASSIVE corruption has been unearthed by the Ministry of Welfare Services for War Veterans, War Collaborators, ex-Political Detainees and Restrictees with the Government having paid more than $150 000 in school fees for non-existent children of war veterans in Harare Province last year.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Retired Brigadier-General Walter Tapfumaneyi revealed the details at a Matabeleland regional war veterans meeting at Stanley Square in Bulawayo yesterday. The meeting was for war veterans from the three provinces of Matabeleland namely Bulawayo, Matabeleland North and South. He said the issue of school fees was the biggest challenge in the ministry.
“Where there is money there are challenges all the time. Take for instance we did a sample in Harare Province in 2015 for 40 percent of the schools that we pay students school fees for and we realised we paid US$156 000 for children who do not exist, ghost children.
“At Inkomo Barracks School, Sergeant Majors and Captains and the district executive for Zvimba connived that children who pay US$87 pay US$300. They were sharing that money, as managers we deal with such issues but you find that such corruption affects comrades who will not have done wrong. Some after paying they would go and marry many wives yet children have no school fees,” said Rtd Brig-Gen Tapfumaneyi.
He said this was the reason why the ministry was now intervening in those issues as they want all children to rightfully benefit.
Rtd Brig-Gen Tapfumaneyi said one war veteran has for the past 14 years been collecting school fees for a child who has since stopped schooling while another is now a flight-lieutenant at the Air force of Zimbabwe.
“War vets, our wives and our children by law benefit from school fees payment in our midst, if one wants to do a doctorate they can apply and we pay if funds permit. The challenge is that this money is not coming. The only cash we received was $6,4 million which was used to pay part of school fees for term one. We did not finish paying the school fees as we were instructed to take some funds to host the meeting we had with the President. We used US$2,4 million which has not been returned.
He went on. “We were promised US$6,4 million which has not come which was meant for second term fees, another US$6,4 was further promised to us and we have not seen it yet.”
As the ministry, he said at one time their bank account had only $30.
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