At the height of the campaign period. over 14 million Kenyans had been listed in the CRB , Credit Reference Bureau. Of those 14 million over 5 million had been blacklisted. This is however going to stop as the president pledge to review the listing mechanisms employed by the Bureaus.

During his speech at the Norfolk hotel today. The president indicated that he wasn’t against the Credit Reference Bureaus but was against their way of business. Ruto went ahead to say that CRB bureaus have been criminalising Kenyans with their business model.

The president pledged that by the end of October over 5 million Kenyans will be removed from the Blacklist. This measure will see a lot of Kenyans access financial and credit facilities. Banks always refer to the bureaus for help to know who is a risky borrower and who is not.

Due to the blacklisting of very many Kenyans over debts amounting to less than 1000 shillings. Small business enterprises have been having the short end of the stick. “It’s not in our position that we are against CRBs. Our position is that we should change the model of listing so that we do not make it an all-or-nothing affair, unfairly disadvantaging borrowers,” added President Ruto

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In October last year, then President Uhuru Kenyatta ordered a freeze on CRB listing for borrowers with outstanding amounts below Ksh.5 million from October 2020 until September 30 this year.

Such borrowers would not have their listings incorporated in credit reports.

The freeze on listing was geared at supporting credit access to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).