FARG to unveil new survivors’ database

A new database for the Fund for Support to Genocide Survivors (FARG) will be released tomorrow, the acting Executive Secretary of the Fund, Theophile Ruberangeyo, announced yesterday. The database, that comprises the final list of students who will be supported by FARG, is a result of a countrywide exercise carried out to ascertain the bonafide beneficiaries of the fund. The vetting exercise was triggered by several reports that people who were not meant to benefit from the Fund, were on the list of beneficiaries, while genuine beneficiaries were left out. The validation was carried out by local leaders, through a house-to-house registration of survivors of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. Previous reports had indicated that over 40 percent of students sponsored by FARG did not deserve the sponsorship, a mess that was attributed to favouritism and corruption by the fund’s administration. This prompted the Prime Minister to sack the entire management, and a new team, headed by acting Executive Secretary, Theophile Ruberangeyo, was tasked to verify the anomalies as one of the priorities during their three-month transitional mandate. In a phone interview, yesterday, Ruberangeyo said the new database is ready. “We already have the new list from local leaders, they are the ones who carried out the re-registration operation and what is delaying us is some of the former beneficiaries who are claiming that they were unfairly dropped out,” said Ruberangeyo. “But this will be concluded in a short time so that a final list is released on December 31,” said Ruberangeyo. FARG currently sponsors over 40,000 students. The government earmarks 5 percent of its annual revenues to support the Fund. Ends

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FARG to unveil new survivors’ database