Auditor General raises red flag over Hustler Fund management

Dr. Gathungu issued a disclaimer opinion, citing inconsistencies in the management of the fund.

She highlighted that the Hustler Fund Management failed to provide financial statements for audit review, which prevented verification of the source and authenticity of the balances. 

This omission underscored significant shortcomings in the fund's transparency and accountability measures.

In her detailed report, the Auditor General pointed to doubts surrounding the recovery process from exchange transactions. 

\Her analysis revealed that 17,855,858 beneficiaries applied for loans, amounting to a total disbursement of Ksh 32,015,962,276. 

However, a substantial balance of Ksh 10,950,075,614 remained unpaid as of June 2023, including interest receivable and loans outstanding.

Dr. Gathungu also conducted a review of balances across multiple bank accounts and mobile network operators linked to the fund. 

She found that Ksh 259,026,553 held by service providers could not be confirmed due to inadequate documentation provided by the fund's management.

Additionally, the Auditor General noted discrepancies in the disclosure of bank account signatories and their specimen signatures, which were essential for the audit review process. 

These lapses further compounded the challenges in validating the financial activities of the Hustler Fund.

Further scrutiny revealed that the fund exceeded its set limits in loan disbursements. Dr. Gathungu identified 238,707 cases where loans totaling Ksh 420,312,323 were issued, surpassing the initial limit by Ksh 219,615,242. 

Among these recipients were 5,070 individuals who were ineligible for loans under the fund's guidelines.

The report also detailed instances where 11,213 borrowers received additional loans totaling Ksh 161,931,703 before fully repaying their previous obligations. 

Furthermore, Dr. Gathungu flagged 129,315 closed accounts holding Ksh 81,622,289, where loan repayments could not be traced, indicating inadequate tracking and accountability measures.

Additionally, the Auditor General identified 867 instances of duplicate loan identity numbers, which processed 1,978 loans amounting to Ksh 477,928. 

This finding highlighted systemic deficiencies in the fund's loan management system configuration and oversight.

In response to these revelations, the Ministry of Cooperatives and MSMEs acknowledged several challenges during the fund's inception, including understaffing, errors in notes numbering, data extraction issues, missing data dumps, and overall extraction challenges. 

These factors contributed to the operational hurdles faced by the Hustler Fund, as outlined in the Auditor General's report.

The findings by Dr. Gathungu have cast doubt on the integrity and effectiveness of one of President William Ruto's flagship projects. 

What was initially heralded as a key initiative now stands under scrutiny, with implications that it may evolve into yet another scandal for the administration.