The Hustler Fund, one of the Kenya Kwanza administration’s flagship economic empowerment programs, is under intense scrutiny after the Auditor General revealed that KSh8 billion from the 2022/2023 budget is unaccounted for.
Appearing before the National Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Wednesday, Cooperatives Principal Secretary Patrick Kilemi admitted that while KSh20 billion had been allocated to the Hustler Fund, only KSh12 billion was formally requested and disbursed.
“The State Department requested the transfer of Sh12 billion to the Hustler Fund, which was processed and transferred. However, no request was made for the remaining KSh8 billion, hence the under-absorption,” Kilemi told the committee chaired by Butere MP Tindi Mwale.
The Auditor General’s report, tabled before the PAC, highlights significant underutilization and procedural issues. According to the findings, the State Department for Cooperatives spent KSh14 billion out of a KSh22.96 billion allocation—reflecting a 36% under-absorption rate.
Kilemi attributed the anomalies to transitional challenges during the early phases of the Kenya Kwanza administration. He said that at the time, the State Department for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs)—the entity currently tasked with managing the Hustler Fund—had not yet been fully integrated into the government structure.
“I was tasked to initiate the process of the Hustler Fund as the State Department for MSMEs was getting established. That’s why I received the funds on behalf of that department and now find myself responding to questions about what transpired at the time,” he said.
He added that the KSh8 billion was not requested through proper channels, which is why it was not disbursed or utilized.
“It wasn’t requested through the proper channels, which is why it didn’t come through,” Kilemi explained.
Further raising concerns, Kilemi disclosed that although the department had over KSh282 million from the Exchequer, it received only KSh3.6 million in appropriations-in-aid by the end of the financial year.
The revelations have sparked concern among MPs and watchdog bodies, with calls mounting for a thorough audit and accountability over the management of public funds earmarked for empowering millions of Kenyans through the Hustler Fund initiative.
