In an interview with The Chronicle yesterday, Minister of Youth, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Patrick Zhuwao blamed banks for the failure of youth to repay Youth Development Fund (YDF) loans,. He said banks gave out the loans without vetting the ability of beneficiaries to repay the money.
Said Zhuwao:
The relationship is between the bank and the particular individuals. Our relationship is between Government and the financial services institutions. Now the financial services institutions are running away from us because a lot of them did not do their due diligence. They have what is referred to as ‘know your customer requirements.’ Some of them did not do that.
He also said Government will not repay abused funds as it did not have a direct relationship with the beneficiaries who ended up defaulting.
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