Citing MCAs' Sh2 Million Car Grant, Kenyan Youth Demand HELB and CRB Clearance to Pass BBI

A section of Kenyan youth has vowed to reject the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) unless certain conditions are met.

Taking to Twitter, the youth demanded that their names be cleared on the Credit Reference Bureaus (CRB), and Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) before passing BBI. CRB and HELB hit number one on trending with more than 5,000 tweets on Friday.

They cited President Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga’s promise to give MCAs a Sh2 million car grant each as a condition to pass the BBI Bill in the county assemblies.

During separate meetings with Kenyatta and Odinga, MCAs sought assurance that they will benefit from car grants, just like MPs, before they can support the proposals in the BBI Bill.

Kenyan youth argued that their demands should equally be met before they are asked to rally behind the initiative. 

@ValentineMwamb3 wrote: “I will only support BBI if it will favor me as a comrade to clear up my names on CRB and Helb loan the same way MCA’s have been granted 2 Million in order to pass it or else it will remain.”

@mathu_wilson posted: “In the car grant spirit, our CRB and HELB loans must be cleared before we pass this thing.”

@FrankKubamba tweeted: “All un-employed graduates with “CRB and HELB” the govt should write off all their loans since its becoming a mandatory to be cleared by HELB for one to get an employment.”

@YouthAdvocateKe said: “We As Youths We Also Demand that The Government Clears Us From CRB and HELB Loans Before We Pass BBI! Alah.”

@VictorMochere stated: “If MCAs will be granted Ksh2 million to pass the BBI, youths also should be granted CRB and HELB clearance waivers to pass this thing. We need a robust conversation; Kenya doesn’t belong to politicians alone. Ama namna gani my frens?”

 @RonoNorman wrote: “This is the Spirit we want from the Youths. If BBI is to be passed, then the Government must first be ready to ‘Forgive and Forget’ CRB and HELB loans before they can Vote Yes.”

Latest data puts the number loan accounts negatively listed with CRBs at 14 million. The number grew by 45 percent in the five months to January 2021 after Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) lifted a three-month moratorium on loan repayment.