Director denies knowledge of internship allowance cuts

She told Mmegi yesterday that her department has not been informed about the intended cut in the internship allowance cut. She declined to discuss a matter she says she does not know about. She was speaking after the Minister of Labour and Home Affairs, Edwin Batshu's announced at a Kgotla meeting in Thamaga that in the next financial year, government will reduce the allowance given to graduates in the internship programme. Batshu said that the allowance will be cut from P1,800 to P1,400 to make savings that will see more graduates absorbed in the programme. He said there are about 5,000 applicants on the waiting list who cannot be absorbed because of financial shortages. The internship programme was started by the government to enable the graduates gain experience  develop their skills. It paid a monthly allowance of P1,800 with P200 retainable at the end of the internship training.