Tana River Governor Dhado Godana when he addressed a press conference on Saturday in Nairobi. Photo/MOSES MUOKI.
NAIROBI, Kenya, May 19- Tana River Governor Dhadho Godhana has urged the National Government to consider waiving some Sh67.5 million loan given to farmers for the Bura and Hola irrigation scheme.
He said food production in the two schemes has in the past failed, making it hard for the farmers to repay back the loan.
“I don’t think this is a lot of money for any government to waive for its citizen,” he said.
During the 2017 General Election campaigns, the government had apparently written off the debt in a road declaration but has since rescinded.
The governor’s appeal comes after farmers protested the move saying the County is drought-stricken with 200,000 people affected.
The Agricultural Finance Corporation has since written to individual farmers asking them to pay their loans with the interest accrued over the past two-and-a-half years.
“This will be unfair to subject people who are already facing drought to such demands,” the Governor asserted. “I am pleading with the National Government to reconsider its decision and waive this debt for the farmers.”
AFC Bank has asked farmers to pay the loan that one took, failure to which their assets will be sold.
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