DCEC probes �missing� youth fund millions

Sharon Mathala | Wednesday August 5, 2015 16:46

It was revealed yesterday in a brainstorming workshop that the youth fund (YDF) is potentially rife with corruption.

The revelations at a workshop called by the DCEC, add credence to previous reports that the millions of Pula government pumps annually into the fund have left no audit trail.

Youth, Sport and Culture permanent secretary (Corporate Services), Peter Mongwaketse stated that the ministry’s Anti-Corruption Unit was being overwhelmed by rising cases of corruption within the fund, with five such allegations made between April and June alone.

“This excludes those that have been reported directly to other institutions like the DCEC and the Botswana Police,” he said.

“Our Anti-Corruption Unit is inundated with complaints and allegations about the programme ranging from favouritism and conflict of interest, deficient monitoring mechanisms during implementation and non-compliance to guidelines.”

The ministry roped in the DCEC, which has given itself until September to produce a report on an audit into the fund and a clean up of the processes.

DCEC officials told Mmegi that they had a meeting with the ministry’s Deputy Permanent Secretary and other senior officers on May 12, 2015.

Between June 15 and July 10, the corruption watchdog’s officers went around the country conducting interviews with staff as well as programme beneficiaries.

“The final report will be tabled to the Permanent Secretary with recommendations as well as verification visits if the need arises,” officials said.

DCEC anti-corruption officer, Botho Samunzala told yesterday’s meeting that the audit would “examine the loopholes which can be a fertile ground for corruption to blossom”. “It will also deduce remedial and/or preventative recommendations to presumed corruption loopholes,” she said.

Mongwaketse said while the DCEC had been called into the matter, this did not mean the ministry’s own Anti-Corruption Unit had failed. “The internal unit has not failed,” he said in response to Mmegi’s enquiries.

“We are part of a larger government and the DCEC was roped in to help with manpower and skills.”

The first signs of troubles within the fund came in June when the deputy permanent secretary, Lewis Malikongwa stunned the Public Accounts Committee by saying the YDF could not be monitored due to the lack of a proper loan book.

Malikongwa also said the ministry was failing to recover outstanding balances, as it did not have a reliable tracking process.

“We are working on automating the whole system so that everything can be accounted for,” he said.

“Until we establish a proper tracking system, we cannot reveal the amount of money from the outstanding collections.”

YDF is an empowerment programme aimed at encouraging out-of-school, marginalised and unemployed youth to venture into sustainable and viable income generating projects. The fund offers successful applicants up to P100,000 comprising both a grant and an interest-free loan.