Friday, 7 March, 2025
Committee on Trade concludes consultations with State Departments on Supplementary Budget Estimates II๐๐ฎ๐ง๐ ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฐ๐๐ซ๐ฌ, ๐๐๐ข๐ซ๐จ๐๐ข ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐ฒ๐๐ก๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฌ๐๐๐ฒ, ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ก ๐, ๐๐๐๐
The National Assembly Trade, Industry, and Cooperatives Committee has concluded discussions with heads of state departments on their Supplementary Estimates II for the 2024/2025 financial year.
Led by Vice Chairperson Hon. Marriane Kitany (Aldai), the committee engaged Principal Secretaries Susan Mangโeni (Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises Development, Dr. Juma Mukhwana (Industry), Alfred Kโombudo (Trade) and Hassan Ababukar (Investment Promotion), on their respective revenue and expenditure estimates.
PS Mangโeni highlighted several unfunded priority areas, stating that the Micro and Small Enterprises Authority requires an additional Sh200 million for equipping and operationalizing Constituency Industrial Development Centres (CIDCs) and Sh150 million for cold storage facilities.
She also informed the committee that the Financial Inclusion Fund, commonly known as the Hustler Fund, had revised its Appropriation in Aid projections by Sh200 million.
The mention of the Hustler Fund prompted sharp reactions from committee members, with Hon. Kitany questioning reports that minors and other unintended individuals had accessed the fund.
โIs it true that minors and even unborn children have received Hustler Fund loans as reported in the media?โ she asked.
The Vice Chairperson was referring to a recent Auditor Generalโs report indicating that Sh31.8 million had been disbursed to 44,167 underage beneficiaries, including infants as young as 10 days old. The audit further alleged that some beneficiaries had future birth dates ranging from July 2024 to December 2073.
In response, PS Mangโeni dismissed the claims, insisting that no funds had been lost.
โThe data used in the audit report contained significant extraction errors. We have since cleaned up the records, and all individuals sampled have verified identity card and telephone numbers,โ she stated.
Meanwhile, PS Mukhwana urged the committee to approve an additional Sh381.4 million for the State Departmentโs budget and allocate Sh100 million for coordinating the County Aggregation Industrial Park (CAIP) project.
PS Kโombudo and PS Ababukar also appealed for increased funding, requesting Sh4.4 billion and Sh4.06 billion for their respective dockets.