A Shilling for Every Two Ruto Tells Hustler Fund Borrowers During First Anniversary Celebrations

At least 1.2 million Kenyans who have consistently borrowed the Hustler Fund will benefit from a 50 per cent savings top-up from the government beginning Friday.

President William Ruto who made the disclosure Thursday noted that these are the ‘loyal’ individuals who have borrowed the money five times.

“Nimeskia wangwana hapa wakisema ahadi ni deni na dawa ya deni kulipa. Niliambia wakenya kwamba ukikopa na uweke akiba, hiyo akiba tutakuongezea. Ukiweka akiba ya shilingi mbili serikali itakuongeza shilling moja,” he said.

(I hear people here say a promise is a debt. I told Kenyans that if you save Sh2, the government will add you a shilling)

“Leo ndiyo ile siku mtapata pesa,” he said amidst cheers from the crowd.

ADVERTISEMENT

Ruto explained that the particular borrowers will be given a matching reward in their long-term savings accounts.

This means that those who have saved Sh6,000 will get an additional Sh3,000.

Speaking during the event at Railways Club, Nairobi, the head of state noted that the move was in line with his promise.

A total of Sh2 billion has so far been saved from Sh39.5 billion which has been disbursed exactly a year since the launch.

From every loan borrowed, the government has been deducting and remitting five per cent to a fixed savings account where 70 per cent is reserved for the long term and 30 per cent for the short term.

Long-term savings are accessible after 60 years while short term can be accessed after one year.

The president at the same time noted that the government will make short-term savings accessible to customers to provide greater flexibility and immediate benefits from their savings efforts.

A total of 19 million Kenyans have borrowed with about seven million Kenyans borrowing daily.

Further statistics show that one million people have borrowed 100 times with one individual having borrowed 1,300 times.

The leading borrower has received Sh4.5m in 814 transactions, saving a total of Sh225,000.

In the voluntary saving scheme launched in March, the top saver has put aside Sh634,000.

There are also 7.7 million borrowers whose overall repayment rate is at 73 per cent.

The Huster Fund group product on the other hand has attracted 50,000 groups out of which, 20,000 groups have received KES 151 million.