The National Treasury has made major changes on Hustler Fund days before it is rolled out on November 30.
The final Hustler Fund Regulations give more powers to the National Assembly on the distribution and availability of the funds.
Initially, the principal amount was capped at Ksh50 billion but the changes gave members of the National Assembly powers to determine the limit.
Lawmakers will have absolute power to increase the loan above the Ksh50 billion or lower the amount at their discretion.
In the initial draft, legislators were only supposed to approve distribution of the funds but not discuss its limits.
“The maximum capital of the Fund to be appropriated by the National Assembly shall be 50 billion shillings”, read part of the draft.
The new regulations were published by Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung’u through Legal Notice 213 dated November 23, 2022.
Ndung’u, a former Governor of Central Bank of Kenya, also changed initial cap that had been put in place on the amount of Hustler Fund kitty that can be used for administrative purposes.
“The administrative costs of the Fund shall not exceed three percent of the approved budget of the Fund,” dictated the initial draft.
The fund will be administrated through the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. Importantly, the docket under Simon Chelugui will also regulate administrative costs.
“The administrative costs of the Fund shall be met through appropriations of the State Department responsible for matters relating to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises,” read the final regulations from National Treasury.
Administrative costs include monies needed for necessary infrastructure, salaries and logistics key to distribution and recovery of the loans.
Financial Inclusion Fund popularly known as Hustler Fund is one of Ruto’s key campaign promise and key cog to implementing Bottom-Up economic model.
