FARG drops 19,000 false beneficiaries

KIGALI - The Fund for the support of Genocide survivors (FARG) has dropped 19,514 students, 30.7 percent of the total beneficiaries, after they were found not to be eligible. This was revealed yesterday, by FARG officials while unveiling the new database that comprises the final list of students who will be supported by the fund. The final list follows a countrywide vetting exercise that was triggered by several reports that people who were not meant to benefit from the fund, were on the list of beneficiaries, while some genuine beneficiaries were left out. Speaking to the press, the acting FARG Executive Secretary, Theophile Ruberangeyo, who was tasked to verify the anomalies as one of the priorities during their three-month transitional mandate, said the reduction had saved over Rwf8 billion. The government earmarks 6 percent of its annual revenues to support the Fund. The new database indicates that 63,519 as authentic beneficiaries compared to the former total of 82,393 students who had been benefiting. Ruberangeyo said a number of dropped beneficiaries were from wealthy families who influenced the former FARG management, which was sacked by the Prime Minister. “Most of the students we dropped were as a result of corruption that existed in the former administration, especially those who were selecting students at the grass root levels. Others were not Genocide survivors,” said Ruberangayo. According to the final list, the Eastern Province registered the highest number of anomalies as 5,546 were dropped from 18,523 hailing from the province. However, Ruberangeyo said the exercise is not 100 percent complete as there are some students who still claim they were unfairly left out. “We will start going through the complaints case by case to establish whether their pleas are genuine,” he said.Ruberangeyo added that the exercise that cost over Rwf50 million was carried out with the help of the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Education, and the National Commission for the Fight against Genocide (CNLG), IBUKA and local leaders in charge social affairs, among others. Ends