The National Assembly Special Funds and Accounts Committee has ordered the Ministry of Cooperatives to provide a comprehensive list of Hustler Fund defaulters. During a session on Tuesday, Cooperatives Principal Secretary Susan Mang’eni was directed to submit defaulters’ names, amounts owed, and phone numbers organized by constituency.
The committee, chaired by Migori Town MP Fatuma Zainab, expressed alarm at the high default rate, with 78% of borrowers failing to repay their loans. The Hustler Fund, which has disbursed over KES 13 billion, revealed that 19 million out of 21 million borrowers had defaulted. “We need accurate data to ensure transparency and accountability. This is public money that must be recovered,” Zainab stated.
The directive aims to help verify the accuracy of borrower information provided during registration, improving fund management and ensuring accountability.
The MPs also criticized the Ministry for failing to provide documents related to 19 audit queries from the 2022/2023 financial year. Ministry officials attributed the failure to miscommunication and staffing shortages. “We’ve been dealing with a shortage of personnel, which made managing the fund challenging,” an official explained. The officials also noted that they had been relying on guidance from the Auditor General’s office to handle outstanding issues.
MPs questioned how the Hustler Fund could manage KES 13 billion in disbursements yet lack adequate staff to track loans. “How can a fund have KES 13 billion to disburse but lack crucial personnel to track it?” asked Mbooni MP Kivasu Nzioka.
