Agriculture Cabinet Secretary (CS) Mithika Linturi says he will release a list of top government officials who have defaulted on government loans.
Speaking before the Senate, Linturi stated that many Senators, Governors, Members of Parliament, and Members of the Executive had taken substantial loans from the MSMEs Agricultural Credit – AFC.
Despite continuous follow-ups, they have failed to repay the loans intended to help maize farmers access affordable credit.
“For some time, people have viewed AFC as a place to take money without repaying. Politicians and senior government officials have taken money from AFC and have not paid it back.
“Take note that I will soon release the list of shame, naming people in the Senate, National Assembly, Executive, and Governors who have taken money and are not repaying despite their substantial resources. Consider this a notice, as I will release the list of those who are not paying,” he said.
The CS also revealed that some government officials were misusing the loans to build high-rise buildings instead of funding agricultural ventures.
According to Linturi, some Members of Parliament and Senators took loans from the fund without proper security. When questioned, they leveraged their connections to protect themselves.
Linturi assured the Senate he would address the issue according to the law to ensure full accountability.
“The role of the AFC is to finance agricultural projects. We do not have money for you to go and build flats. And once we get to know about it, we will deal with the matter within the full force of law. I know because we have started these investigations, there are people out there saying that they are being targeted.
“A number of loans have been taken without proper security and when we are about to get the culprits, they look for people to protect them. We will not allow it. I will make sure that things are done the right way,” CS Linturi added.
President William Ruto had previously directed the State Department to allocate Kes.3 billion to the MSMEs Agricultural Credit – AFC to help maize farmers access affordable credit to boost productivity. However, the ministry only allocated Kes.1.5 billion to the fund.
