The Nigerian Government announces new grant opportunities often, but personal grants? Not so often. Typically, these announcements meet large numbers of Nigerians in need who believe any amount could go a long way in helping their personal or business situations. Of course, these schemes come with a clear purpose—to relieve individual pockets across the country. Apart from identifying applicants who meet the eligibility requirements and paying out to the provided bank accounts, what measures are in place to make sure the funds do not end up in the wrong pockets?
Work and School, a website that shares updates concerning newly launched Nigerian grant and loan opportunities, is sharing the following measures that should be considered to effectively make sure disbursed personal grants do not go into the wrong pockets in the first place.
Unlike loans, which are repayable (with or without interest), the chances are that people who do not require grants will apply for them. As such, the government’s projected reach and impacts during the planning phase will not be met. It might as well deprive the real needy who have a real purpose for the money.
The Nigerian government should consider the following:
1. Require Detailed Financial Declarations
Applicants should be required to submit a detailed financial declaration, including bank statements, tax records, and asset holdings to help verify their financial needs. Those with substantial assets or high income levels should be automatically disqualified from receiving the grant. Only people without deep pockets and genuinely in need should have access to the funds.
Take, for example, the NDDC internship scheme divided into phases. The launch indicated that only 10,000 will be awarded. However, a lot more than this number has applied. Work and School, for example, has seen well over 90,000 engagements, not to mention the possible numbers opening accounts on the application portal. Part of these
2. Cross-check with Tax Records
The government should cross-check grant applications with the applicant’s tax records to identify applicants who are already earning well and might not need the financial aid. High earners can be flagged during this process, and their applications can be rejected. Nigeria’s tax system should, at this point, be set in motion to analyse existing tax data, and quickly filter out those who don’t genuinely require the grant.
3. Implement a Net Worth Cap
Set a strict net worth cap for eligibility. Applicants with a net worth above a certain threshold should be automatically disqualified. The cap could be determined based on current economic conditions and living costs to make sure that the wealthy are filtered out during the application process.
With this, more intentional people with limited financial resources can benefit from the grants.
4. Audit Previous Recipients
Conduct audits on previous grant recipients to assess how the funds were used and whether they were indeed in financial need. If a pattern of wealthier individuals receiving grants is discovered, the criteria should be adjusted accordingly.
This ongoing review process will help refine eligibility requirements and make sure that future grants are better targeted at those in genuine need, rather than allowing funds to be diverted to those who don’t require assistance.
5. Incorporate Means Testing
How about incorporating a means test into the grant application process? What this simply means is assessing an applicant’s income, expenses, and overall financial situation. It will help the organisers determine the true need of applicants for the grant. The means test should be rigorous and cover all sources of income and assets, including those that might not be immediately obvious, such as property ownership or investments. Only those who fall below a certain financial threshold should qualify for personal grants from the Nigerian government.
6. Mandatory Asset Disclosure
Require applicants to disclose all assets, including properties, vehicles, and investments, as part of the application process. This disclosure should be verified against official records for accuracy. Applicants found to have significant assets should be deemed ineligible. This measure will prevent the well-off from claiming grants meant for those struggling financially.
The truth is that both the needy and the rich see these grants alike—as an opportunity to add to their personal finance inventory. However, many well-to-do citizens will fail to see the need to allow the actual audience to take advantage. The well-to-do will always be tempted to apply in hopes of ‘enjoying free money’. “After all, it’s Government money,” they will say. This is why the Government should take these measures to discourage some applicants. Otherwise, disbursing grants will continue to be a case of giving with high expectations but very little reach and consequently little to no impact.
The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author, Paulinus Sunday, and a contributor at the Work and School blog.
