Minister freezes funds due to abuse

 By SHIRLEY MAULUDU

FISHERIES and Marine Resources Minister Mao Zeming has frozen the disbursement of project development funds (PDF) due to abuse by project operators, an officer says. 

National Fisheries Authority (NFA) deputy managing director Philip Polon said it was realised that some operators never used funds they applied for, for the intended purposes.  

“The minister has basically frozen the disbursement of PDF because of abuse, not abuse by NFA but abuse by operators,” Polon said.

“That’s what the minister was concerned about and through his office, he has been receiving a number of complaints saying the recipients of PDF are not doing what they were originally funded for. They are doing something else with the funding, or some of them don’t even do it at all.

“They call them paper projects. They just come and develop a paper for funding and they don’t do whatever they are committed to do.

“Many of them buy the material and re-sell them, so it was more of an abuse.

“So it is like that and that is not good. We have to screen. Let’s be a little bit serious so we give money to people who are really serious and not anyone.”

Polon added that there had been some assessment done. However, NFA was developing new guidelines for the PDF. 

“So it becomes more robust when it comes to screening applicants.

“We are only addressing those that are keen and have potential in developing.”