Microfinance Menace in Kenya.

 Microfinance Menace in                     Kenya. 

In the Kenyan economy, one cannot survive on a salary alone because the enormously heightening economy has overrun most of our salary scales; ever heard of a joke on salary visa vee bills. Bills in a pictorial presentation prevail supremely, always growing, adding weight and height. At the same time, salary is understood to have those poor growth traits where growth is static or in a Biological Context, we phrase it as dwarfism, so this forces every Kenyan worker to push to the limit just to pocket at least an extra coin which can leave someone out of options as that extra coin has proven a hard nut to crack.

This kind of economic crisis and stress always leaves the common mwananchi without a leeway and under the mercy of financial institutions, for instance, major Banks, micro-finances and online lending platforms the likes of Tala, Branch,Okash, Kashway, Ipesa etc they're so many that soon some will be given our mothers names due to lack of any to be accorded with on a lighter note. However, the disappointing fact is how did the government allow so many digital lending platforms to infiltrate our economy? Are we taking another direction from a productive Nation to a borrowing and debt-stricken country? Do we have laws and guidelines to impede such happenings, or is someone sleeping on the job?

Many of these financial institutions mostly microfinance do not and I repeat do not adhere to the rules and regulations of lending and borrowing as stipulated in the Kenyan constitution and most specifically in the area pertaining interest capping, this has led to many workers and youths, in general, being dumped in the CRB, Research study has it that an estimated over 3.5 million Kenyan youths are in the CRB due to inability to pay soft loans borrowed from online lenders, this depicts a negative picture of our economy and productivity as a country. Some of this workers or youths did find themselves in this situation due to lack of know-how or due to the games played by this institutions when they seek to offer their loan products to the client, one of the tricks is that they'll always come to you when you have exhausted your avenues and truly you're in a mix maybe you have an emergency so you will have no option but to dance along, another one is that they will never allow you to read and understand the terms and conditions pertaining that particular loan product whereby you will only come to learn that you've been slapped with a 93% interest on a loan after you've squandered the money.

In January, I happened to have this friend who took 30,000ksh from a certain lending agency only to realize he'd be paying back 132000ksh. I can't even calculate the interest margin because it's annoying to self.

I would urge the concerned body that is the Central Bank of Kenya and other related organs and financial committees in both houses to take a closer look at this matter before things get out of hand, come to imagine unemployed youth being taken to the CRB because of 700ksh only to pay back 2300ksh in order to be cleared by the same body and be issued a certificate of clearance is utter madness, It leaves someone to wonder if its a business agreement between the two parties or what is happening in our beloved country? Please save a Kenyan worker and youth from depression, suicidal thoughts, and family breakups due to financial constraints brought about by this kind of madness.