North Imenti Constituency has emerged the best in the country in repayment of Uwezo funds at 89.6 percent.
Speaking during the issuance of cheques at the constituency headquarters in Meru town, the funds Director Ms Wanjiku Muhato said the board was pleased with the way the groups in the region were receiving utilizing, revolving and refunding money.
“We are also proud of the leadership offered by area MP Rahim Dawood who has been supporting and encouraging us even when we felt like we are not making any impact to Kenyans,” said Ms Muhato.
She revealed that Uwezo fund has been criticised in many quarters with claims that the board gives out the money while people were not feeling the impact.
“We are now telling them to come to North Imenti and see the impact that the fund has made. Particularly, we are proud that we have 35 groups which will be receiving refinancing fund, and this means they have felt the impact of this money in their lives and this is why they still want some more,” said Ms muhato.
She noted that there were some groups that had received the maximum amount of Sh500,000 and wanted a higher limit but this was not possible since at the moment Sh500,000 is the limit.
She however said that they were widely consulting to see whether the limit could be increased even up to Sh1million.
“I am also pleased to see 27 new groups have been approved for funding and as this shows they have been influenced by the existing ones,” she said.
She took concern that only nine groups of people with Disabilities have so far received over one million in the entire constituency, adding that more should be coming on board.
“We are not doing good marketing in identifying where these groups are, and we need to work a little bit harder to encourage them to come forward and access the fund because we believe it can help advance them and change their status,” said Ms Muhato.
She also called on all the groups to make the board happier by hitting 95 percent in terms of repayment because the more money they repay, the more money will revolve and the more they can get back and borrow.
“Let us continue borrowing and talking about Uwezo Fund and make this constituency as prosperous as possible and pray God blesses us with much more,” she said.
On his side Mr Dawood called on the beneficiary groups to ensure timely repayments in order to qualify for more funds.
He also noted that there were very few first-time groups meaning much more needed to be done to ensure new applications.
“People should not be afraid to apply for this money since unlike the bank loans, no interest is charged and you are given a grace period before the repayment period,” said Mr Dawood.
He also called on the government to consider adding more money to Uwezo Fund as it has proved to be a game-changer to many people in the rural areas.
Meru Woman Representative Ms Elizabeth Kailemia urged the successful groups to spread the gospel to others in their localities so they can also benefit from the government resources.
“Let us all take advantage of this money since it has no interest and it can change our lives for better if we utilize it diligently,” said Ms Kailemia.
She congratulated MP Dawood for emerging tops in loan repayment saying this was a result of prudent leadership.
By Dickson Mwiti
