Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC) is demanding to meet Secretary of President and Cabinet (SPC), Colleen Zamba over the K11.3 billion National Economic Empowerment Fund (NEEF) loan cancellation.
National Coordinator for HRDC, Kelvin Chirwa, says the coalition is demanding information on people whose loans were written off by NEEF and the reasons behind the decision to promote transparency and accountability.
Apart from this, the joint organizations want relevant information on the beneficiaries of the scheme and details of people who have not yet paid back the loans as well as the amount of money they owe NEEF to assist them in understanding whether those people can still repay the loans or not.
“You know there have been speculations that some of the beneficiaries of these loans can pay back but have deliberately decided not to pay back. Let’s find out those who have had their loans ‘forgiven’ so that we should be able to minimize the abuse in the current loans,” he explained
Chirwa says the decision to write off the loans was reportedly made during a Cabinet meeting held on 1st April 2024 and it has sparked debate from the public hence the demands to seek clarity from the relevant authorities because HRDC is an organization dedicated to upholding transparency and accountability in governance.
In terms of their course of action if their demands are not met, the grouping has asked the SPC to meet them before 30th April, but they are yet to receive any response from the SPC.
Chirwa says he believes in the spirit of a responsive administration and he hopes that SPC will get back to them.
On the issue of the next step, Chirwa says they will decide after the deadline.
