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"id": 976497,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/976497/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Igembe Central, JP",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Kubai Iringo",
"speaker": {
"id": 1574,
"legal_name": "Cyprian Kubai Iringo",
"slug": "cyprian-kubai-iringo"
},
"content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for giving me this opportunity to contribute to this Report on the audited financial statements for the Uwezo Fund and the Women Enterprise Fund. The initiation of the Uwezo Fund and the Women Enterprise Fund was well thought out. It was a good idea. Its intentions were clear. It was to assist the youth, the disadvantaged and the women of this country to access loans to start businesses or improve the Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) category with affordable repayment which is interest free. That was a noble idea from the Government, from the outset. Unfortunately, when the Funds were started, especially the Uwezo Fund, there were no structures. I am not wrong to say that this Fund was started haphazardly when we were going for elections. The implementers did not take time to put up good structures that would govern the Funds. They did not come up with regulations, structures on repayments and disbursements and even training of the borrowers, especially the rural people who are ignorant about borrowing. In the absence of structures and people not having been trained, it became a big problem. Another problem that cropped up when the funds were released to our constituencies is that most of the candidates who were vying or the sitting Members of Parliament, instead of encouraging people to borrow and repay, they were telling them that the money was from the Government and that the Government was assisting them to get votes. That was planted in people’s minds and they believed that it was money from the Jubilee Government. Saying that taking the money would mean supporting the Government of the day made many people take the loans as it has been mentioned on the Floor. Some went with the money and they refused to repay. Others shared the money and misused it. Therefore, repayment became a big problem. Initially, the groups could not borrow at the same time. So, when it was time for the remaining groups to borrow, the first groups were slow in repaying and some had refused to pay because they were misguided not to repay. The second lot became victims of circumstances. The rules now state that you have to recover 50 per cent before the constituency is allowed to disburse more funds. In my constituency, I have over Ksh10 million lying in the account for quite a while because we are at 48 per cent recovery. Up to now, we cannot disburse the money and we have people who are waiting to be advanced loans. The money is lying in the bank without anybody using it and the people have been waiting for it for five years. That is why we need to change the rules and reduce the average absorption whereby if, at least, there is 25 per cent recovery, then the money can be released to other groups and they will be encouraged. However, we need to educate the people. People should be educated like what they are currently dong with the Youth Enterprise Development Fund and the Women Enterprise Fund. The interns who have already been put on the Fund are, at least, going around the constituencies. In my constituency, they are doing their last training today to train the youth, the disabled and women on how to borrow that money. But the Uwezo Fund does not have that structure. It does not even have employees. It uses the Youth Fund employees. It does not have offices. It uses the constituency offices. It does not have transport. Most of the time, it uses NG- CDF vehicles for those constituencies that have them. So, the Fund is handled haphazardly and yet, it could be beneficial to our youth and women. Unfortunately, the structures are wanting. Therefore, instead of having so much money lying in the bank for three to five years without doing anything… For example, in Igembe Central, we have got over Kshs10 million. You go to another constituency, they have Kshs8 million or Kshs5 million. Why can that money not be sliced up so that a certain percentage can facilitate those trainers, the committee or hiring The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}