By Prince J Musa in Kenema
Traders in Kenema district Eastern Sierra Leone have expressed dissatisfaction over the disbursement of the ‘Munafa’ fund to business people in the district, describing the process as unfair.
The traders on the 6th February, 2023 stormed the office of Global Osusu and saving scheme, the institutions contracted to disburse the fund to business people in the district alleging that they were denied the fund despite their registration with Small Medium and Enterprise Development Agency (SMEDA).
According to Mariama Mansaray, a trader who spoke to Politico at the scene said each of them have spent over Le 350,000 (three hundred and fifty thousand old Leones) to be registered at the SMEDA office. She therefore urged Global Osusu to be plain with them on whether or not they will benefit from the loan.
She accused Global Osusu and the savings scheme for conniving with Traders Union to misdirect the resources, adding that their group registered with SMEDA in 2021 but that they were not given the money. She pleaded with government officials to intervene so that they could benefit from the money.
A Civil Society Activist in Kenema working with transparency International Lamin Koroma said they are concerned about the Munafa fund due to the many complaints they have received from traders regarding the disbursement of the fund in Kenema.
He said they expected Global Osusu to have done a lot of media engagement to inform people about the availability of the fund before the disbursement.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Global OSUSU in Kenema, Mohamed Kanneh told Politico that they have disbursed the money to the appropriate beneficiaries the amount due them.
He admitted that some of the allegations made by the traders are quite correct, adding that they have over 17,000 (seventeen thousand) traders on their list.
However, he said Le1.4 billion (one billion four hundred thousand Old Leones) was disbursed to them and that the beneficiaries should receive from one million to ten million Old Leones accordingly. He added that the amount is not sufficient for the over one thousand registered traders.
“We received Le 1.4 billion and it has been disbursed based on the lists given to us by SMEDA,’’ he said.
Kanneh stated that they will be looking at the lists to ascertain whether there was any discrepancy on it, saying that not all that have registered will immediately get the money and pleaded with them to wait for another disbursement. He denied the allegation of his institution doing the registration in that regard.
The Regional Coordinator East of SMEDA, Festus Damba Mbayo described the situation as unfortunate and a misconception by the traders, saying that Munafa gave the correct lists to the disbursement agency based on the register and that the traders were verified after the screening process.
He said they were able to detect some dubious acts that were ongoing in the process, saying that some traders attempted to fraud the process.
Mbayo added that registration alone does not qualify one for the fund, noting that it is based on their investigation that they will recommend any financial institution for payment through the lists processed.
He stated that they have done several sensitizations, but that people were only interested in getting the money and not following due processes.
“Munafa do not give out the money directly but verify and recommend business people that meet the bench mark,’’ said Mbayo.
President Julius Maada Bio, on the 12th February 2021, officially launched the Government of Sierra Leone Microcredit Scheme (MUNAFA FUND) as support to promote and develop SMEs in the country.
Copyright © 2023 Politico Online (10/02/23)
