A lobby has moved to court to challenge the Hustler Fund saying it was launched without the constitution of an advisory board.
Operation Linda Ugatuzi said the government has violated the law by releasing the Financial Inclusion Fund popularly known as the Hustler Fund.
The lobby said President William Ruto had promised that if elected, he would ensure the provision of the hustler fund.
“After assuming office, he illegally sought to fulfil some of his campaign promises which included the formation of the said fund,” lawyer Bernard Odero Okello said.
“What is illegal about this fund is that the government lends you money with interest and there is no office to visit if the deal goes wrong,”
He claims that Kenyans are being informed that they will be pensioners but are not informed when they want to claim their money and where they would go.
Okello also contends that there are no bank accounts for Kenyans and there is no board for accountability and guarantee of continuity of the fund.
“Parliament has not been involved nor cabinet’s approval sought as to how the funds should be structured,” he said.
“They say that there is hunger in the country and the government is allowed to take up Sh10 billion constituency fund. But the government has taken Sh50 billion to lend to Kenyans on empty stomach and leaving them in more debt.”
The lobby wants the court to suspend any further disbursements of the funds arguing that there has not been any establishment of a board contemplated under Regulation 10 of the regulation by the Treasury cabinet secretary.
Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung'u through a legal notice made regulations known as the Public Finance Management (Financial Inclusion Fund) Regulations 2022 which established the Financial Inclusion Fund popularly known as the hustler fund.
President William Ruto launched the fund on November 30 and announced that the capital amount for the fund currently stands at Sh50 billion.
The lobby through lawyer Okello however claims the CS has not appointed a Chief Executive Officer under regulation 14(1) nor approved the estimates of expenditure and revenue.
“Despite the said fund being stated to have been removed from the consolidated fund without following the due process enshrined in the law, the President has indicated that a further role out of the second phase of the fund is to be released to the public soon,” Okello said in court documents.
It is their case that a public fund of over Sh100 billion will be unaccounted for out of the consolidated fund for lack of proper administrative mechanisms to safeguard the same as required under the constitution and the public finance management act as read together with the regulations establishing the fund.
The applicants have raised over 15 concerns that they want the court to address that include how the fund operates as it has no known established office or entity.
