Food Bank ripped off
Many of the beneficiaries of the Ministry of Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare’s Food Bank earn above N$400 per month, which is against the qualifying criteria and thus illegal, says the director of Poverty Eradication Programmes and Coordination in the ministry, Niita Iipinge.She said this during a community meeting in Okuryangava for the Tobias Hainyeko Constituency last Saturday.
Without disclosing a number, Iipinge said the ministry has found that most of the households benefitting from the programme earn above the stipulated monthly income for those who qualify.
The Food Bank programme, which is still in its pilot phase, has benefitted more than 17 000 households in seven constituencies in the Khomas Region thus far. The project was established in mid-2016 to provide impoverished citizens with food to reduce hunger and to fight poverty.
Among the criteria are identification documents and a declaration from the Namibian Police that the applicant/household earns less than N$ 400 a month.
However, an assessment of the programme revealed the fraud.
Iipinge cited an example of a woman that filed a complaint after she noticed that her neighbour who is an employed police officer, benefits from the programme while she, who is unemployed, does not.
Through the Khomas Regional Council, the ministry has instructed street committees to identify and remove the households whose monthly income is above N$400 from the beneficiaries list.
Iipinge said it is clear that most applicants provided the police with false information regarding their monthly income, which is illegal. She said those found guilty of providing false information under oath will be brought to book, as the ministry will open a case against them. – Nampa