The Hustler Fund audit for the financial year ending June 2024 has exposed shocking irregularities, raising serious concerns about its management and accountability.
According to Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu, the fund disbursed loans to underage individuals and even to people whose birth dates suggest they had not yet been born at the time of registration.
The findings paint a picture of a poorly monitored program that is vulnerable to fraud and mismanagement.The audit revealed that Ksh 31.8 million was distributed to 44,167 borrowers despite their records showing inconsistencies in age.
Some of these borrowers were below 18 years, which means they were legally unable to enter into loan agreements. Even more troubling, auditors found that thousands of registered customers had birth dates between July 2024 and December 2073, which is impossible.
These errors indicate that fraudulent registrations may have been used to siphon money from the fund, raising serious concerns about data integrity and accountability.Out of these questionable registrations, 42,981 individuals already received loans amounting to Ksh 31.1 million.
Additionally, 1,186 minors, some as young as 10 days old, were granted loans totaling Ksh 681,395. This raises the question of how such an obvious flaw in the system was allowed to persist. Loan agreements made with minors cannot be legally enforced, meaning that any defaults on these loans cannot be pursued for repayment.
This creates an environment where funds can be easily lost without any hope of recovery, further straining public resources.
Another major issue raised in the audit is the fund’s overreliance on external payment service providers. Instead of having a robust internal system to manage disbursements and collections, the Hustler Fund has handed over a crucial part of its operations to third parties.
This lack of internal control increases the risk of financial mismanagement and fraud. Without a proper credit policy or collection strategy, there is no clear plan on how loans will be recovered, putting the fund’s sustainability in doubt.
The findings expose deep flaws in the management of the Hustler Fund, raising serious questions about whether it was set up with proper safeguards in place.
A program meant to provide financial relief to struggling Kenyans is now marred by inefficiency and questionable transactions.
The presence of non-existent borrowers in the system suggests that the fund could be exploited by fraudsters, leading to massive financial losses. If these issues are not addressed urgently, the fund could collapse, leaving behind a trail of lost public money.
The government must now take action to rectify these irregularities and ensure those responsible for the mismanagement are held accountable.
Add Comment