Over 500 students removed from FARG list

EASTERN PROVINCE NGOMA — The number of students benefiting from the Fund for Support of Genocide Survivors (FARG) dramatically went down in Ngoma district, as the government intensifies efforts to weed out fake beneficiaries. During the recent validation exercise carried out last week, about 546 students in Ngoma district were scrapped from the list.Out of 2,229 students who were on the list last year, only 1,683 were retained. The exercise was held at the village levels countrywide, unlike previous years when it used to be carried out at sector levels.It was conducted by the Ministry of Local Government (MINALOC) in conjunction with the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR). After the validation however, some students and parents complained that they were unfairly removed from the list. On Tuesday, about 50 students stormed the district to lodge their complaints, insisting that they are eligible for support. In an interview with Lionel Kubwimana, who is in-charge of statistics at the district, he admitted that the exercise was given less than ample time and that chances are that there could be genuine students who were left out. ‘We are getting numerous complaints from some of those who were removed from the list of those eligible. They argue that they have no other forms of accessing support for attaining education apart from the FARG source adding that being removed from the list has dealt a great blow to the careers of those affected’, Kubwimana said. ‘However we shall establish the authenticity of such claims’.Genocide survivors and other vulnerable groups registered between October 1 1990 and December 31 1994 are among those who were included on the new list of beneficiaries.Others included on the list are the orphans, widows and those who were left disabled by the Genocide, but who never participated in the killings. The validation was prompted by several reports that showed that some local leaders had abused the Fund, by orchestrating sickening irregularities since its inception in1998. According to a four-page document from MINALOC, outlining the guidelines to be followed during the validation exercise, many fake student beneficiaries had found their way on the list by registering names of fallen Genocide victims as their parents, especially those who returned after the 1994. Ends