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BEAM's $10m allocation to cover only 33 000 children instead of the required 600 000
18 Dec 2015 at 06:17hrs | Views
MDC-T MP Paurina Mpariwa has said according to the Finance minister Patrick Chinamasa's budget announcement $10 million which will cover 33 000 children under Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM) instead of the expected 600 000 children.
Speaking in parliament Mpariwa said there is $10 million that has been allocated for Basic Education Assistance Module which has covered 33 000 children instead of 600 000 children.
"Each one of us has had a case where communities are phoning you to ask if you could assist with school fees. I implore the Government because I understand that we are now on our own. In 2009 to 2012, I vividly remember that we used to have UNICEF and DFID assisting the Government in terms of mobilizing resources to the tune of $30 million," she said.
"I also implore the Minister to re-look at the BEAM programme and to actually partner. The Government needs to identify partners. We cannot do it alone; we need to approach development partners and friends who can mobilise resources with the Government so that the BEAM programme actually covers every deserving beneficiary."
She said members do have them in the communities.
"When I looked at this Budget, I simply looked at the windows where we have children, women, people with disabilities, et cetera. The disadvantaged groups are the ones that I looked in the Budget and what programmes and how much was allocated in terms of service delivery," she said.
"If you look at social dialogue, I do not think Government is serious when they talk about social dialogue. If not well resourced, we have a problem. People that are not talking to each other will end up having disputes."
"What do I mean by this? If Government, business and labour are not talking, then we have a serious problem. You will have strikes, sit-ins and unproductive workplaces where people are arguing all the time. I do not think the Government is willing to have such despondency. There is need to fund the social dialogue process in the form of the TNF where people engage themselves to talk about issues," she added.
Speaking in parliament Mpariwa said there is $10 million that has been allocated for Basic Education Assistance Module which has covered 33 000 children instead of 600 000 children.
"Each one of us has had a case where communities are phoning you to ask if you could assist with school fees. I implore the Government because I understand that we are now on our own. In 2009 to 2012, I vividly remember that we used to have UNICEF and DFID assisting the Government in terms of mobilizing resources to the tune of $30 million," she said.
"I also implore the Minister to re-look at the BEAM programme and to actually partner. The Government needs to identify partners. We cannot do it alone; we need to approach development partners and friends who can mobilise resources with the Government so that the BEAM programme actually covers every deserving beneficiary."
"When I looked at this Budget, I simply looked at the windows where we have children, women, people with disabilities, et cetera. The disadvantaged groups are the ones that I looked in the Budget and what programmes and how much was allocated in terms of service delivery," she said.
"If you look at social dialogue, I do not think Government is serious when they talk about social dialogue. If not well resourced, we have a problem. People that are not talking to each other will end up having disputes."
"What do I mean by this? If Government, business and labour are not talking, then we have a serious problem. You will have strikes, sit-ins and unproductive workplaces where people are arguing all the time. I do not think the Government is willing to have such despondency. There is need to fund the social dialogue process in the form of the TNF where people engage themselves to talk about issues," she added.
Source - Byo24News
