Minister reveals system abused, Ministry calls for review

THE Ministry of Finance and Treasury has disclosed that the process in obtaining government tertiary scholarships was abused and that government had continued to pour money into ‘what seems to be a black hole’.

Minister of Finance and Treasury Snyder Rini explained that the award of tertiary scholarships is an example of a DCCG policy with good intentions.

However, he says that somewhere along the road the system was abused which led to the government being faced with financial commitments beyond its capacity.

“Sadly, the process was abused, allowances inflated, students name duplicated, etc. that the government continue to pour money into what seems to be a black hole,” Mr Rini said in the statement.

The Cabinet specifically outlined how and how many students could be awarded so that the programme is managed within government’s affordability.

The statement furthers that the Ministry of Finance and Treasury in line with the Cabinet decision would therefore like to see the tertiary scholarship being reviewed.

The statement also admits that the abuse of good policies is widespread and its financial implication is a burden to the government.

“In addition those who abuse the system raise unreasonable public expectation on the government, and impedes normal service delivery,” the statement said.