The National Assembly’s Special Funds Accounts Committee has demanded the tracking down of defaulters of the Financial Inclusion Fund, popularly referred to as the Hustler Fund, to recover billions of unpaid loans.
In a session held at Bunge Tower, the lawmakers engaged the Financial Inclusion Fund Chief Executive Officer, Henry Tanui, and other officials on how a programme meant to broaden access to credit for ordinary Kenyans has left about Ksh12 billion yet to be recovered.
The committee, led by Fatuma Zainab, stated that public funds must be tracked, accounted for, and protected.
Tanui said that new recovery mechanisms have been put in place to recover the unpaid funds. These include using identification and location data tied to borrowers’ National IDs to trace defaulters, a move seen as crucial in strengthening follow-up on unpaid loans.
The authorities have secured approval from the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner to access records linked to roughly 20 million registrants, aimed at strengthening monitoring and preventing evasion through changing phone numbers or discarding SIM cards.
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The CEO revealed on Thursday that Ksh83 billion had been issued out as of Wednesday this week, and Ksh71 billion had already been repaid.
“Young people who think they can borrow and disappear cannot do so because we will get to you using your IDs,” warned Tanui, maintaining that the government has not lost money through the programme and remains confident that the outstanding amounts will eventually be recovered.
He stated that borrowers registered for the fund using personal details tied to their National IDs, allowing authorities to link borrowers to specific records.
The Hustler Fund was launched on November 30, 2022, by President William Ruto to offer affordable credit at an annual interest rate of 8 percent to small traders, micro-businesses, and individuals.
The fund has reached over 26 million Kenyans by last year through a zero-rated mobile phone channel *254#.
By Obegi Malack
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