Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has urged SACCOs and banks to grant loan amnesty to Kenyans struggling with repayments, warning that mounting debts are pushing families and businesses to the edge amid a worsening economic crisis.
Speaking on May 19 after brokering a deal between matatu operators and the government that ended a transport standoff, Sakaja said financial institutions must recognise the extraordinary circumstances facing Kenyans and ease repayment pressures.
“We are in extraordinary times. The crisis we are in is global,” Sakaja said, pledging to act as guarantor for matatu operators in negotiations with the government. He added, “We can talk to them to some level of amnesty for some time, because people are really struggling.”
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Matatu operators have been among the hardest hit, facing massive debts and the looming threat of vehicle auctions by lenders in the event of default. Sakaja acknowledged that recent increases in levies and operational costs had worsened the situation, admitting that the government itself recognised the strain these hikes placed on ordinary Kenyans.
He promised to personally sit with matatu operators at the highest level of government talks in the coming days to resolve the standoff around levies and related costs permanently, noting that children were missing school, patients were unable to reach hospitals, and farmers were struggling to transport produce to markets.
By Masaki Enock
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