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{
    "id": 916792,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/916792/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 352,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Let us have a look at the journey of the HELB loan to beneficiaries. Students start getting the HELB loan straight from the first year. A student can get a loan of about Kshs60,000 per year. If you multiply that amount by four years, which is the least period a person can be in a university, one will have a debt of Kshs240,000 by the time of graduation. That is without any accrued interest. There are chances of some missing out university education for lack of finances. That is where the easy part ends and potential nightmares start. A student is given a grace period of one year from the date of university completion, and not graduation, after which they are expected to start repaying. According to a report by the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA), one million young Kenyans join the workforce every year. Only one in five of them gets a formal job. The rest join the informal sectors or engage in occupations that do not earn them enough wages. That means that the majority of the HELB loans beneficiaries are less likely to get formal jobs within the first year of completing university education. For those who get formal jobs, the situation is not that easy. Almost everyone who works in Kenya is a beneficiary of the HELB loan. There are those lucky ones who get jobs at the entry levels or internships that pay them only Kshs15,000. Some of them have to commute from areas like Eastlands. If they have to pay bus fares and eat, what is Kshs15,000? The same situation applies even to those in formal employment, who fails to remit monthly repayments to the HELB. Additionally, employers are also fined. When someone fails to pay every month, they are charged extra penalties of Kshs5,000. For those who have formal jobs but fail to pay every month, their employers are also charged 5 per cent of the amount payable. Currently, if a HELB loan beneficiary fails to remit payments to the HELB for more than three months, they are immediately listed in the Credit Reference Bureau (CRB). If the CRB blacklists anyone, it hampers their ability to access loans from other institutions, yet that is what many people depend on to further their education. On the other hand, those who have never applied for a HELB loan are required to get a clearance certificate from the HELB that costs Kshs1,000, which they have to pay every time they apply. The worst thing is that we do not know how that money is accounted for. They charge a graduate Kshs5,000 every month as penalty, if they do not remit the money on a monthly basis. Every other Kenyan who applies for a job is charged Kshs1,000. Why can they not use some of the monies to reduce the debt of the poor students, who do not have any alternatives but to go for the HELB loans? You cannot apply for any Government job without a clearance certificate. That cost is in bad faith, considering that a person who is unemployed has to give Kshs1,000 in order to get the clearance certificate. That is something that should not be paid for. That is a public service which should be free. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}