Local Government minister Saviour Kasukuwere’s sister, Dadirayi, who received a $3 000 loan in 2012 under the youth fund, is still to repay a single cent.
BY VENERANDA LANGA
The issue was revealed when the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Youth and Indigenisation visited youth projects in Mount Darwin.
Mount Darwin youth development officer Linia Matara told the committee that Dadirayi took the $3 000 loan to start a cement business.
“She got $3 000 in 2012, but she did not repay anything to the bank, but we have been contacting her and asking her to pay back, but she has not done anything,” Matara said.
“She claimed she was operating a hardware shop and was selling cement and the project went on for four years and stopped.”
Marara also told the MPs from the committee that visited Bindura and Mount Darwin projects that when she told Dadirai to avail herself to show the MPs her project, she excused herself saying she was attending a funeral.
MPs were not impressed as it appeared during the tour that most of the $40 million in youth funds might have gone down the drain.
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In Mount Darwin a total $1,8 million was injected for youth projects, but out of 1 034 projects only 118 are still operational.
Out of the said 118 projects MPs were only shown two projects with empty stalls. At one stall, the owner Nicholas Mutasha was given a $600 loan to sell vegetables. His stall was empty with dried vegetables that cannot be worth $20.
Dadirayi’s cement project was also visited, but MPs only found an empty space without a single bag of cement at a car park outside a surgery belonging to her husband.
Another stall that MPs were shown in Mount Darwin had empty tables and the beneficiary of the loan was not even present.
Mount Darwin district head Maorine Chafurama was at pains to explain to the committee how the money was disbursed and project monitoring mechanisms because it turned out project supervision had been very poor.
Chafurama could not produce documents to support the projects, and was ordered by chairman of the committee Justice Mayor Wadyajena to produce them before Parliament next week.
Some beneficiaries disappeared with the funds after giving false addresses.
MPs said they were surprised with the quality of the projects which did not tally with loans disbursed.
Mount Darwin provincial youth development officer Byl Nyamukato told MPs that CABS Bank processed 774 applications and 467 were funded up to $666 335, but only $246 170 was recovered.
However, the Bindura meeting ended prematurely with MPs escorted to safety by riot police.
Angry youths during a public hearing had threatened Wadyajena, claiming he was on a political mission to embarrass Kasukuwere and President Robert Mugabe.
One of the youths even went to the table where MPs were seated pointing threateningly at Wadyajena.
The youth banged the table where MPs were seated while shouting he would defend Kasukuwere and Mugabe.
