K150M MISSING?

… CEEC GOES AFTER LOAN DEFAULTERS

THE Board of directors for the Citizens Economic Empowerment Commission (CEEC) has intervened to help recover millions of Kwacha in unpaid loans from beneficiaries of the revolving funds who defaulted.

CEEC public relations and communications manager, Michelo Mukata said the CEEC board would soon sit to provide a road map on how the money would be recovered.

Mr Mukata said the non- repayment of loans was affecting the CEEC’s mandate of empowering citizens as the money was a revolving fund which was supposed to be given to new beneficiaries once recovered.

The latest Auditor General’s report indicates that CEEC was owed about over K150m in unpaid loans which included amounts totalling K1, 042, 472 in outstanding loans owed by 23 clients who could not be traced by the organisation.

The CEEC had failed to recover the collateral pledged for the loans.

“These loans that CEEC gives to citizens are revolving funds therefore nonpayment of loans affects the mandate of the authority,” Mr Mukata said. Mr Mukata however said CEEC had several ways of recovering unpaid loans that may include possession of collaterals from citizens.

He said CEEC had also embarked on close monitoring and evaluation of the funded businesses to ensure that funds are recovered.

Mr Mukata said CEEC could also seize collaterals as a last resort for clients that fail to settle the loans.

“If all interventions that CEEC has put in place fail, we will go the legal route for clients that provide collaterals and see how we can recover money that was pumped into the business,” Mr Mukata said.

On the over K150m unrecovered funds, Mr Mukata said CEEC was waiting for guidance from the board on how the matter could be dealt with.