The Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, in a statement released this Wednesday, reported that an audit of the National Institute for the Management of Scholarships (INAGBE), conducted by the Court of Auditors, is underway.
According to the ministry, which reaffirmed its commitment to "transparency, legality and good governance in order to better serve the public interest", the audit of INAGBE has been ongoing since May 2024.
The Maka Angola portal, managed by activist Rafael Marques, reported on Monday the existence of a "hole" of more than 21 billion kwanzas in INAGBE, through transfers and payments without justification, made in 2022.
In addition, according to Maka Angola, there are 101 scholarship holders, duly identified, who receive subsidies from INAGBE, but are not included in the lists sent by the universities that host the beneficiaries.
On Tuesday, students receiving scholarships in higher education in Angola reported five months of delays in the payment of their grants by the entity that manages the grants, admitting that there is "misappropriation" of funds.
The president of the Association of Students and Former Scholarship Holders of Higher Education in Angola (AEEBISA), António Armando, admitted evidence of misappropriation of funds from INAGBE, given the "unjustifiable excessive delay" in the payment of the grants.
In statements to Lusa, Armando António stated that all students receiving scholarships in Angola have been without their respective grants for almost five months – since last October, the start of the academic year – and admit to holding demonstrations at INAGBE to "demand" that the payments be reinstated.
Lusa has been waiting since Tuesday for a statement from the INAGBE management.
