Katete women hide in bushes

Mon, 05 Dec 2016 13:13:32 +0000

By Richard Luo

SOME women in Katete are reportedly hiding in the bush for fear of being harassed by money lenders after failing to pay back loans.

Two money lenders, Mzimai Angakwanise and Vision Fund, have been following some women in the area of Chieftainess Kawaza of Eastern Province chasing after unrepaid loans.

In an interview, headman Kalinde Adrian Banda complained that some women got money without proper plans or a budget and that led many of them have since defaulted on loan repayment agreements.

“Some women are truly living in fear such that the sound of any motorbike makes them uncomfortable. Some even take to the bush to hide,” he said.

The traditional leader said that some families are selling cattle, chicken, goats and pigs as well as household goods to pay back the loans.

“Others who got the loans from Mzimai Angakwanise have attracted problems to their families. It is not that these loans have high interests but negligence on the part of the people who got loans to act according to the agreements,” said headman Kalinde.

Mr Banda said last week some women were rounded up by one lending institution for failing to pay back and are now facing possible court action for defaulting.

Some women who spoke to Daily Nation on condition of anonymity revealed that their loan-defaulting colleagues were hiding in the bush ‘‘waiting for miracles’’ to save them.

“Some of our colleagues are hiding in the bush for fear of being arrested. We don’t know what they eat, how they are surviving and where they sleep,” one women said.

The lending institutions gave loans to hundreds of women in communities as a way to reduce poverty levels in families by empowering women with start-up capital for businesses.