Bulawayo residents and other stakeholders in the country at large have dismissed the Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM) as unable to cater for the needs of disadvantaged children who need assistance due to corruption, lack of transparency and politicisation in the selection of beneficiaries. BEAM has also been deemed ineffective due to inadequate funding resulting in thousands of orphans and children from poor families failing to access basic education, which is a right for every child. In Bulawayo for instance, according to the Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture, in a presentation to a European Union delegation in early February 2012 there are 27 000 orphaned and vulnerable children, with only 10 000 benefiting from BEAM. In Matabeleland South, there are 70 000 orphaned and vulnerable children with 40 000 benefiting from BEAM while in Matabeleland North there are 72 000 vulnerable and orphaned children, with a mere 5000 children getting assistance. It is clear therefore that the government, through the Ministry of labour and Social Welfare should take more measures to afford basic education to vulnerable children.
Unavailability of information on who the beneficiaries of BEAM means that there is leeway for inequitable distribution of the funds to deserving people among the provinces. The scarcity of information on the criteria for choosing beneficiaries and the failure of the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare to publish names of beneficiaries also means that there is leeway for corruption in the implementation of the programme. As long as there is no transparency in the implementation of the fund, there can never be certainty that BEAM is benefitting people who truly need assistance. Neither can it be ascertained whether or not the country’s provinces are benefiting equally and/or equitably from the programme. It is also possible for children who do not really need BEAM assistance to benefit from the programme. For instance, due to poor screening methods, orphaned children who have guardians who earn enough to put them through school can benefit from the fund at the expense of children from poor household whose parents or guardians cannot afford to send them to school.
Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (BPRA) thus recommends that:
· The Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare and the Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture should publish the names, addresses and provinces of beneficiaries of BEAM to ensure transparency in the selection of beneficiaries for the programme.
· The government should ensure that all the country’s ten provinces benefit from BEAM in an equitable manner based on the level of need for assistance. This would ensure that regions that are normally marginalised such as Matabeleland North and South and Bulawayo adequately benefit from BEAM.
· The government should make known its current criterion and method for selecting beneficiaries of the fund. The scarcity of information on this leaves room for political cronyism and corruption in the selection of beneficiaries.
· The government should allocate more funds for BEAM to ensure that a greater number of orphans and vulnerable children get assistance with their education. This is imperative because of increased poverty in the country due to high unemployment, low remuneration levels and an increase in the numbers of orphans due to HIV/AIDS.
· There should be a clear monitoring and evaluation mechanism to ensure accountability and transparency in the selection of BEAM beneficiaries and to ensure that money allocated by treasury for BEAM reaches the beneficiaries. In line with this, a platform should be created for residents to participate in the monitoring of the implementation of BEAM.
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