Hustler Fund Defaulters To Be Tracked Down As Gov’t Ordered To Provide Phone Numbers
On Tuesday, the National Assembly’s Special Funds and Accounts Committee directed the Cooperatives Ministry to submit a comprehensive list of Hustler Fund loan defaults.
During her appearance before the committee, Cooperatives Principal Secretary Susan Mang’eni was ordered to submit a list of defaulters’ names, amounts owed, and phone numbers by constituency.
In its directive, the Accounts Committee stated that the information would aid in verifying the accuracy of the information provided by borrowers during registration.
The lawmakers were forced to issue the directive after the committee led by Migori Town Member of Parliament Fatuma Zainab noted that the Fund, which had received more than KSh13 billion in a recent disbursement, had a 78 percent default rate.
During the meeting, the committee chastised Ministry officials for failing to submit evidence for 19 outstanding audit queries for the fiscal year 2022/2023.
Earlier today, the Ag. CEO Hustler Fund @liznkukuu appeared before Parliamentary Special Funds Account Committee chaired by Hon. Mohamed Zainab to respond to issues raised by the OAG in June 2024.
— Hustler Fund (@hustlerfund_KE) October 1, 2024
Inattendance was the PS @MSMEs_KE @HonSusanMangen1 and Staff from Hustler fund. pic.twitter.com/KHVYbxeQ1v
In their defence, Ministry officials blamed their failure to submit the critical documents on miscommunication and a previous staff shortage at the Fund.
According to the officials, a staff shortage forced them to seek guidance from the Auditor General’s office.
The legislators also expressed concern about the Fund’s lack of qualified personnel, questioning how it would manage the Kshs13 billion recently disbursed to the ministry.
“How can a fund have Ksh13 billion to disburse but lack crucial personnel to track it?” questioned Mbooni MP Kivasu Nzioka.
During the grilling session, it was also revealed that the Fund was not insured, and MPs raised concerns about how the Ministry would recover all the money that had turned into bad debt.
The latest development comes just a month after Cooperatives Cabinet Secretary Wycliffe Oparanya announced the government’s plan to pursue Hustler Fund defaulters.
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On August 23, Oparanya told delegates at the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSEA) annual conference that 19 million of the 21 million Kenyans who borrowed from the hustler fund had defaulted on their loans.
According to CS Oparanya, the Hustler Fund was public money that should be borrowed and repaid so that other applicants could benefit from it.
“We are coming up with a system that will now track you to know where you are, you will soon see someone knocking on your door telling you to pay back the hustler fund,” the MP stated.
Hustler Fund Defaulters To Be Tracked Down As Gov’t Ordered To Provide Phone Numbers
