YDF wheels jam as youth fail to repay loans
Monday, November 13, 2023 | 300 Views |
Tumiso Rakgare
The call was made by President Mokgweetsi Masisi in his last week’s State of The Nation Address where he bemoaned that the repayment of loans is currently low. “For the sustainability of the fund, as well as for equity, I urge recipients of loans to timely repay their loans as this is a revolving fund,” he said.
YDF, which is housed under the Ministry of Youth, Empowerment, Sport and Culture Development, is a half grant and half loan arrangement. Beneficiaries are expected to repay their loan component to enable government to sustain the programme as a way of demonstrating responsibility and accountability. For years, government has been concerned about the number of youth who default on their loans.
That a single private law firm pocketed P6.5 million for just four cases, out of a total P11.1 million paid for 25 matters, reeks of a system that was not merely disorganised but open to abuse.Bayford has taken a welcome first step by telling the Public Accounts Committee the truth. Now he must act decisively to ensure it never happens again and that any money lost to wrongdoing is recovered.The figures are staggering. Whilst ordinary Batswana...