BY STACY ODHIAMBO
President William Ruto Sunday announced that the government has removed seven million Kenyans from the Credit Reference Bureau’s (CRB) blacklist.
“We have made that commitment come true. Seven million Kenyans who were blacklisted in CRB have all been removed.” Ruto said.
Speaking at a church service in Molo, Nakuru county, the Head of state said the move is meant to fulfill his promise to promote financial inclusion.
In September 2022, he pledged to remove at least four million Kenyans from the adverse CRB listing. He stated that the action is crucial because many individuals have been shut out of formal borrowing.
“I am very happy that between four to five million Kenyans will be out of the CRB blacklist by the beginning of November. This is very important; 4 million Kenyans have been excluded from any formal borrowing because of blacklisting. They have been left at the mercy of shylocks “he said at the time.
The Head of State emphasized the significance of this action as many individuals were unable to access formal loans due to blacklisting, forcing them to rely on loan sharks.
He urged for the recalibration of the CRB listing mechanism to prevent unfair disadvantages for borrowers, particularly those at the bottom of the economic pyramid.
“Governor please explain to our people that in the CRB space, we should change the model of listing so that we do not make an all-for-nothing process and unfairly disadvantage borrowers,’’ he told the Central Bank Boss Patrick Njoroge.