Borrow and repay government funds, Oparanya tells Kenyans

By Peter Ochieng

Cabinet Secretary (CS) for Cooperatives Wycliffe Oparanya, has urged Kenyans to borrow and repay government funds in time.

The CS, speaking in Kisumu while officially closing an Uwezo Fund board members workshop on Friday, said a big pool of Kenyans can only benefit from government funds if those who borrow repay in time.

Oparanya poured cold water on claims that Uwezo Fund, Hustler Fund and Youth Fund among others are political in nature, ‘hence no need for repayment after borrowing.’

The former Kakamega governor urged custodians of the Funds to be innovative, adding that allocations from the treasury are becoming thinner each financial year.

“You must be innovative, things are changing. You must start thinking of how to raise money to support your operations. Nowadays, there is no money from the treasury,” said Oparanya.

Charging a minimal interest, the CS said is one of the ways Fund managers can raise money to finance their operations. He said an idea of merging all the Funds being operated by the government has been placed on his table by some small-scale traders, but added that a hasty decision can’t be taken.

“That is a political decision,” he added.

He said they are coming up with a system of locking Kenyans with an existing loan from borrowing from another government platform.

Susan Auma Mang’eni, the Principal Secretary, State Department for MSMEs Development on her part said they have disbursed Sh57 billion from the Hustler Fund to 46 million Kenyans, since it was initiated about two years ago.

The repayment rate, she said, stands at 79 percent. “Borrow and repay for you to build up your credit rating.”

“We know of people who started by borrowing Sh500 and are currently borrowing Sh50, 000 because of paying in time, which has grown their credit rating,” she added.

Her sentiments were echoed by Ann Njuguna, Uwezo Fund board chair.