Keumbu Senior Chief Jonathan Machoka has warned area women against phony and fraudulent Saccos offering loans at exorbitant interest rates.
Speaking on Sunday at Keumbu during a fundraiser for Maendeleo ya Wanawake in Nyaribari Chache constituency, Machoka wondered the way loans recovery is conducted.
He told women to go slow on taking instant loans whose interests and penalties, he said were extraordinary.
“There are Saccos that have worrying penalties and interest rates. If someone took a loan of Sh6, 000 and defaults payment, it accumulates to Sh30, 000 after one month. The interest rate is as high as 30% per month. What kind of penalty is this, surely? When taking a loan you (women) must be careful because of the repercussions,” he cautioned.
He added: “You must initiate promising projects so that you can repay the loans to avoid unnecessary embarrassments.”
He said many homes have collapsed due to these loans and asked women to involve their spouses before taking the loans.
“Most of these women take loans without the consent of their husbands. This has so far brought differences and even broken many families, especially when recovery of the loans is done whereby family property is seized as a recovery tool. I have seen houses being brought down for iron sheets and even cows and other properties taken away by lenders,” he said.
Chief Machoka revealed that women avoid taking loans from Women Enterprise Fund (WEF) and other straight and friendly institutions, due to the long period of processing for the loans.
“We have sources of loans that women can acquire loans from but because of time taken to process for the loans they opt for the instant ones that are only out to filch them,” he said.
Machoka faulted Saccos and other loaning entities that recover loans through seizing properties without court orders or even involving the administration offices.
“When recovering loans, the Saccos or any other entity that gives loans should have a court order or involve us,” he said.