Embakasi East Member of Parliament Hon Babu Owino has denoted that he is not ready or rather willing to pay back the Higher Education Loans Board(HELB) which facilitated his education in the University of Nairobi.
Babu said this during a television interview on Monday, the day in which the board changed its tune from arresting defaulters to publishing their names and pictures.
The MP urged HELB officials to handle the matter in a diplomatic way so that each party could benefit. He also added that he did not see the essence of repaying back the money since the funds usually come from the tax that is obtained from the people of Kenya.
“I will not repay that (Helb) loan. It is taxpayers’ money. It is not a loan we took from China,” he said.
“I was called to come and acquire knowledge at the University of Nairobi. It is the work of the government to pay for my education. They (government) promised us free primary and secondary education. University education should also be free.”Babu was quoted by NAIROBI NEWS.
He wondered how HELB expects individuals holding the money to clear up in 30 days. He added that the reason why the 85000 defaulters have refused to repay back Sh 50 billion is that they are not capable of paying back most especially due to lack of employment.