via British govt gives Zimbabwe $10 million for school fees | SW Radio Africa by Nomalanga Moyo on Wednesday, February 26, 2014
The UK government has provided an extra $10 million to enable thousands of poor children across Zimbabwe to access basic education.
The Social Welfare Ministry asked for help from the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), after the Zimbabwe government failed to fund its own Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM) scheme.
BEAM is meant to offer social protection and pay primary school fees for one million orphans and vulnerable children.
The $10 million DFID funding commences in March and is aimed at 250,000 children in primary and special schools. This will be in addition to the $27 million that the agency provided in 2012-2013.
In all from 2011 to 2015, the UK expects to have invested $650 million in Zimbabwe’s education, health, water and sanitation sectors.
“The UK is very pleased to be able to provide this additional support which will make a huge difference to the lives of the children who will benefit along with their families and wider communities,” DFID’s Jane Rintoul said in a statement.
The development agency however said this was likely to be the UK’s final contribution to the education scheme, and urged Zimbabwe “to redouble its efforts to find additional funding sources”.
MDC-T Shadow Minister for Basic Education Concilia Chinanzvavana said if DFID withdraws, thousands of disadvantaged children will lose out.
“If DFID pulls out I don’t see any future for the disadvantaged children who have been depending on this scheme for elementary education.
“Basic education is a right, not even a social welfare issue, but our government has failed to ensure this right for many poor children, including those with special needs,” the legislator for Mash West told SW Radio Africa Wednesday.
She said ZANU PF should think of the children as the party’s officials loot and plunder national resources
In the past, there have been concerns over the way BEAM is administered, with some reports suggesting that some eligible children were being sidelined.
In response, DFID official Olympia Wereko-Brobby told this station in January that they had rigorous mechanisms in place to only ensure that only deserving children benefited.
“DFID has an interest in making sure the most vulnerable benefit from the programme. Our implementing partners Crown agents undertakes verification visits jointly with the Government of Zimbabwe to around 500 schools every term to follow up on where our money goes. This includes a review of the selection process,” Wereko-Brobby said.
At least $73 million is required to cover this school year, but Treasury allocated only $15 million.
The country’s critical sectors are all severely under-funded as corruption and mismanagement continue to bleed the economy and starve Treasury of proceeds from the country’s vast mineral wealth.
With the protracted economic crisis showing no signs of abating, hundreds of company have closed, rendering millions of Zimbabweans jobless and vulnerable.
The threat of a humanitarian crisis has seen Western donors stepping forward with billions of dollars to deliver social services on behalf of the ZANU PF government.
Last week, the US government announced a $100 million food relief programme to feed starving Zimbabweans over five years.
Also last week, the European Union gave the Zimbabwe government over $4 million for small businesses.
But even so, the hostile Mugabe administration won’t stop blaming its western funders for its self-inflicted ills.
COMMENTS
They owe Zimbabwe millions more for the damage done to our economy through propaganda and economic sabotage funded by the local embassy. Its just peanuts.
Why don’t you shut up Apolitical, all your comments make people sick. You sound like a psycho to me.
You need your head examined Apolitical.
Mr apolitical you are an idiot. You are bootlicker and not even ashamed
How much was spent on your president’s birthday last week? Don’t know whose worse, zanu or the fools who support it…. They don’t owe us anything, we did it to ourselves.
“Apo” please make your comment in the herald.They will be appreciated there.
plonker
Apolitical u r a joke. What of our new colonisers, the Chinese? How much do they owe us and y can’t they help?
I thought you want the UK to keep its “pink nose” out of Zimbabwe”
Someone has to pay for mugabe s 90 th birthday party I can see the one million plus being stripped out already stupid british
Castigate these British bufoons louder and they will open their wallets more often.Far easier than being productive and paying taxes.
They cannot suffer for the sins of their leaders, but unfortunately Mugabe has just handed his responsibility to the British. Talk about sovereignty.
Its about time the British government woke up and stopped supporting Mugabe its a disgrace Mugabe and his cronies have caused the dire situation in Zimbabwe instead of making so many trips abroad he should use that funding to help educate the future leaders who hopefully will not follow in Mugabes footpath
Where are “our all weather friends” These chinos and their zanu pf friends make Zimbabweans sick!!!
And still Bob The Sod will blame sanctions for the problems in Zimbabwe. Zanu Pf you are rotten, evil and have no shame.
The imperialists never abandon their very own. Do North Korean and Cuban children also get some “grants” from the British or EU?
I like irony of it. The British coming to Mugabe’s rescue!! And lets hear what he has to say about the British next when he can not even enable children to have an education anymore. Students at Cape town University of Technology, SA being funded by the Zimbabwean Gvt could not register for weeks and had to find alternative accomodation due to arrears and failure by their Gvt to pay. At the same time Mugabe was feasting to the tune of US$1M in Marondera. It sounds unreal. SHAME SHAME SHAME on you Robert!!!
On behalf of the children who I senserely hope will benefit from this money thank you Britain.
Its sad that the children have to be looked after by a dad from across the street because their own is a loud, obnoxious,foul mouthed good for nothing, abussive and downright piece of shyte called Bob
Thanks Lucy. As for you Apolitical and your likes f++++++
Its for the innocent school kids ! Don’t bring your cheap politics into this please
If it even gets to the kids! Who can we trust that 5Mil is not skimmed off by the politicals for their own kids university fees in other countries?
Where is Phillip Chayangwa’s fund raising skills? He had no problem raising $300 000 for Munya Chizonga. Our President had no problem giving Wendall $50 000 after he had won in Big Brother or even Kirsten. He has no problem spending $1000 000 on his birthday when kids are failing to pay school fees.
Clearly, we have our priorities upside down. Or is it because we have just had a landslide victory and to hell with these goddamned people. They will be assisted by these imperialists.
My heart is with you my people.More companies closing weekly,thousands of jobs lost,thousands more unemployed .WHAT are you going to do,sit on your backsides and let them destroy you.Stand up and be counted.
And the Chinese so-called all weather friends will never part with a cent!!
the poor families who cannot afford fees for their children are the very same people who support Mugabe. this donations must be made clear that Mugabe has failed them and the british who Mugabe talks bad about all the time are the ones helping not the poor families but Mugabe so that he can preside over educated fools.
The British are not bad after all,..the only thing that they do bad is to go into other countries internal affair,..Of course you can help but don’t go around bragging about the good deed you have done…And it is time for our on Zimbabwe govt to look after their own citizens…People are tired of handouts.
Ever since the Victoria Falls Conference, the British Government and its hands-outs have been Bob’s best friend. Its what made Bob the man he is today. With a 40 percent income tax rate, 2 million Zimbabweans living in Britain (mostly off the public dole), and Scotland about to declare its independence the British tax payers are close to having their backs broken.
The US isn’t any better off with an 18 trillion dollar national debt, the only way it can come up money for a hand-out to Zimbabwe is to borrow it from the Chinese or the Arabs.
If foreign aide were the answer to Zim’s problems, the problems would have all been solved 30 years and about 300 billion dollars ago. The best thing for Zimbabweans to do is to SAY NO to foreign hand-outs and sort out its own kit. Keep in mind that when the money is gone, Bob will be happy to leave on his own.
Well said,..our resources should not be abused,they should be traded to our own benefit not to benefit so-called Politians…Money should go to the rightful departments were it is really needed…for example agriculture,transport,education,National health,..you don’t want our money no more to be used for lavish parties.I heard his daughter is going to wed soon,..guess whose money is that…Our own cash that….WE SHOULD NOT BEG FROM ON COUNTRY PERIOD.
Apolitical, you buffoon! your Chink friends will never ever hand over free money, like the stupid Brit government has done.
Get off your azzes and fight like the gyppo’s and ruskie’s in Ukraine, talk, talk, talk……
Scare=de=cats!