A group of women from Murang'a County are on the brink of losing their multi-million block of apartments built through a Sacco.
Through the Murang'a County Women Sacco, the women pooled personal funds by saving Ksh10 a day and acquiring loans to amass over Ksh100 million to construct the apartments.
Speaking to the press, Lucy Ndung'u, one of the members of Murang'a County Women Sacco, explained that they had incurred a financial debt of over Ksh80 million accrued over the years.
She added that the financial institutions had declined to extend the period for payment, with the apartments facing auction for failure to remit the amount.
"We have appealed to the bank to remove the penalties but they have declined. We have tried our level best but they demand us to pay the Ksh80 million debt," she told Kameme TV.
Njeri Waweru, another member of the Sacco, also appealed to Cooperative Cabinet Secretary Simon Chelugui to assist in clearing the debt.
She pointed out that the apartments have since created housing opportunities for university students as the apartments are located near Murang'a University of Technology (MUT). The apartments consist of over 101 rooms with an average monthly rent of Ksh10,000.
"We ask Cooperative CS Chelugui to waive the penalties for our Sacco and assist us in this situation. Kindly remember the hustler from Murang'a who is trying to make ends meet," she explained.
While explaining how the woes began, Waweru stated that the business commenced smoothly, generating an average of Ksh1 million a month from the rooms whose monthly rent is Ksh10,000.
However, the business soon began to crumble after the pandemic broke out in 2020, with several university students vacating the premises owing to the tough economic period.
She explained that the business failed to recoup its momentum since then.
"We began these houses to help the students but it seems that they may not have a place to reside any longer if our plight is not adhered to," she added.
