The ongoing drought and high poverty levels in northern Kenya have been blamed for the low repayment and uptake of loans of the affirmative funds.
According to latest figures from Uwezo Fund, repayment and uptake of the funds in the region stood at 57 and 9 per cent respectively.
This comes when 23 counties in arid and semi-arid lands have been adversely affected by the drought leading to loss of livestock and livelihood.
Uwezo Fund chairperson Prof Losenge Turoop said they are working with stakeholders to improve the uptake and repayment of the loans.
Speaking in Naivasha, Turoop said the harsh weather conditions had affected the repayment in northern Kenya compared to Central and Coastal regions.
“There was a wrong perception about this revolving fund but we are addressing the issue of repayment which has risen from 34 to 42 per cent,” he said on Thursday.
Turoop also said administration costs for the affirmative fund from the government had dropped by more than 50 per cent in the last three years thus affecting their services.
He added that plans were underway to address the issue of defaulters and reduce the six-month grace period given to loan beneficiaries.
“Currently there is no policy to deal with defaulters and we have been forced to use chiefs to follow up on those with loans,” he said.
National Government Affirmative Action Fund chairperson Florence Kirinya said that they were keen to make sure the funds were well utilised.
She, however, expressed concerns over the issue of accountability when it comes to identifying the target groups at the constituency level.
“We have organised an induction workshop for all women representatives who are involved in the distribution of these funds so that the issue of accountability can be addressed,” Kirinya said.
Women Enterprise Fund chairperson Prof Wanjiku Kabira expressed concern over taxes and the number of certificates needed to register the groups.
She called for the right policies to make it easier for the registration of the women groups so that they could also benefit from the affirmative funds.
“Some of these regulations make it harder for the women to start business while the issue of public participation has not been addressed,” she said.
(edited by Amol Awuor)
