Principal Secretary for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Development Susan Mang’eni/HANDOUTPrincipal Secretary for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Development Susan Mang’eni has rejected former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s criticism of the Hustler Fund.
The PS challenged the former Deputy President to explain which Kenyans he has been listening to.
Mang’eni said Gachagua’s remarks about the government’s flagship financial inclusion programme were misleading and cited data from his home region of Mt Kenya to illustrate the fund’s reach.
“This afternoon, former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua made sensational claims about the Hustler Fund,” Mang’eni said.
“It is important to set the record straight, using Nyeri County as an example.”
According to Mang’eni, about 420,000 people in Nyeri County have accessed the Hustler Fund since its establishment, borrowing a cumulative Sh1.88 billion.
She said the number of beneficiaries represented more than half of the county’s population, saying the figures did not support claims that the fund had failed to reach ordinary Kenyans.
“The top individual borrower in Nyeri County has cumulatively borrowed Sh2.06 million,” she said.
“In Mathira Constituency, the top borrower has accessed Sh648,000. In Ruguru Ward, the top borrower has accessed Sh584,000.”
Mang’eni also highlighted the repayment performance in Nyeri, saying the county had recorded the highest repayment rate nationally.
“Nyeri County also has the highest repayment rate in the country at 88 per cent, followed closely by Murang’a, Kiambu, and Nairobi at 87 per cent,” she said.
She then appeared to directly challenge Gachagua’s repeated political message of listening to ordinary Kenyans.
“Huyu anaskiza ground gani?” Mang’eni asked, loosely translated as, “Which ground does he listen to?”
Her remarks came shortly after Gachagua criticised the government's development programmes, including the Hustler Fund, during a media briefing.
Speaking while assessing the Kenya Kwanza administration’s four years in office, Gachagua questioned the impact of the programme and its ability to transform the businesses of ordinary Kenyans.
“The Hustler Fund whose head or tail cannot be traced,” Gachagua claimed.
He also questioned government figures indicating that the fund had disbursed Sh87 billion to 28 million people.
“The Hustler Fund is said to have disbursed Sh87 billion to 28 million people. What a paradox...” he said.
Gachagua said he was yet to encounter a Kenyan who had expanded their business as a result of accessing the Hustler Fund.
“I am yet to hear any Kenyan say they have expanded their business courtesy of the Hustler Fund,” he said.
The former Deputy President also argued that the money channelled through the programme could have generated greater economic impact if it had instead been remitted to savings and credit cooperative societies.
