The institute of certified public accountants of Kenya (ICPK) has called for the quick roll out of the popular affirmative action fund, hustler fund.
According to ICPAK Chairman George Mokua the fund will be a major boost to small medium enterprises already feeling the heat of Covid-19 ramifications.
Mokua however cautioned that the fund risks eroding the existing funds like Uwezo fund among others.
"ICPAK is therefore of the considered opinion that such existing funds which have grown our people in the past should be kept running but with proper accountability mechanisms." said Mokua.
Adding " We urge that they be tailored towards the specific areas where they can still benefit youth and women."
The Hustler Fund, which is set to be operational in December, will see the government set aside Sh50 billion to provide cheaper credit for micro and small businesses.
Speaking at the sidelines of the 39th ICPAK annual seminar in Mombasa, Mokua also called on the government to come up with quick interventions to solve the current drought and hunger facing some parts of the country.
Among the issues that Mokua proposed is the review of government emergency response policies and reallocates funds to supply food and water to Kenyans in the affected areas.
Mokua charged "we propose that the government and private sector embrace sustainability reporting and continued climate financing strategies as a way of combat climate change challenges and also subsidize the cost of food production to ensure that there is food security in the country."
On county pending bills, Mokua called on the government to ensure that the pending bills are settled to avert financial crises.
"The ripple effect is that several Kenyan small and medium sized businesses bid for government contracts are quickly being edged out of business because of challenges posed by liquidity challenges. The delayed payments are also hitting the financial sector with lenders saddled with non- performing loans which have jumped to new highs due to Covi-19" argued Mokua.
