Claim
On Friday, October 28, 2022, a Facebook page purported to belong to Minister of Finance and National Planning Dr. Situmbeko Musokotwane posted a statement urging applicants from all sectors of society to apply for grants following the approval of US$275m financing by the World Bank to support Zambia’s Reform Programme. According to the statement, the grants were supported under the programme which involved collaboration with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Global Entrepreneurship Network, and the International Development.
Rating Justification
iVerify Zambia has determined as false, the statement purported to have been released by Minister of Finance and National Planning Dr. Situmbeko Musokotwane urging applicants from all sectors of society to apply for grants following the approval of US$275m financing by the World Bank to support Zambia’s Reform Programme. iVerify Zambia arrived at this conclusion after Dr. Musokotwane issued an official statement dismissing the statement circulating on social media. In his statement also published on the Ministry of Finance and National Planning official Facebook page, Dr. Musokotwane described the statement circulating on social media as fake news and urged the general public to protect their personal information. Dr. Musokotwane further informed the public that the statement calling for grants application was a scam and fraudulent, as the Face book page alleged to belong to him was itself a fake. Therefore, the statement purported to have been released by the Minister of Finance and National Planning, Dr. Situmbeko Musokotwane urging applicants from all sectors of society to apply for grants following the approval of US$275m financing by the World Bank to support Zambia’s Reform Program, is false.
