Staff Reporter
A group of San students who are being funded by Palm for Life and who study at the Cosdec centre in Ondangwa have accused the organization of starving them by providing little to no food, as well as allegedly embezzling their monthly allowance fees.
The Informanté interviewed an activist representing the students, AR member Jeremia Shikongo, as well as the Scholarship Programme Officer for Palms for Life, Esme Hoëses, to get both sides of the story.
Shikongo said that he interviewed the students housed at Punyu village flats in Oniipa to listen to the issues they experienced with Palms for Life. “These students were made to sign a contract of a bursary last year in January 2022 and this year, and in the contract it says that ‘PALM FOR LIFE’ will pay for their tuition fees, accommodation, food, school materials and provide them with a monthly allowance of N$550 that will be disbursed once every second week,” Shikongo narrates.
He further notes that the allowance amount decreased from N$550 to N$390 for some students. “This can already tell you that somewhere, someone is behind this and they are busy enjoying dog meat potjie,” Shikongo claimed.
In addition, the student representative alleged that the students were last allocated food on the 17th of February 2023, while the contract states that they may receive food parcels twice a month. Shikongo also questioned why students who signed a bursary agreement were later told to apply for a loan with NSFAF. “They were told that NSFAF will give them a loan of N$1600 and that from that, they would receive N$3500 as non-tuition fees and the rest will pay for their tuition fees. Usually, NSFAF pays for students’ tuition fees and gives students N$17,000 as non-tuition fees, but this one is different and it needs a proper explanation both from NSFAF and PALM FOR LIFE. And students are being asked for N$450 for exams (NTA money) but they have a bursary,” Shikongo questioned.
Responding to these claims, Palm for Life Scholarship Programme Officer Hoëses denied all these allegations that the students are being starved. While she could not provide a receipt, she offered WhatsApp videos and pictures of the bi-monthly food parcels provided to the students since February.
Furthermore, Hoëses explained that certain students receive lower allowances as penalty fees when facing disciplinary charges, such as damaging the hostel, alcohol, and drug abuse, etc. Hoëses also shared that the allowance was initially N$1100 per person, but that this amount was reduced to N$550 and that the deducted N$550 from each student is allocated to purchasing food. She added that this is done due to the fact that students used the funds on alcohol and drugs in past instances, resulting in a lack of food in the hostel.
However, the students claim that while six of them share these food parcels per room, the amount of food bought only amounts to N$750, while N$550 is deducted from each person.
Hoëses also directed all inquiries on NSFAF to NSFAF itself, adding that the Palms for Life program only funds bridging courses which include other subjects like Mathematics, Accounting, and English, and that students apply to NSFAF when they graduate from the bridging courses to the NQA level 1 and 2 mainstream courses. As such, she noted that Palm for Life mostly is responsible for the upkeep of these students, which includes accommodation, allowances, as well as food provision.
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