HELB extends 100pc COVID-19 Penalty Waiver for two months

The waiver, dubbed 'Kamilisha Malipo Ya HELB' was initially scheduled to run from 1st March 2022 to 30th April 2022, has now been extended to 30th June 2022. 

In a statement released on Wednesday, HELB Chief Executive Officer Charles Ringera said the waiver's end coincided with the start of the school year, prompting numerous requests to extend the waiver to give loan beneficiaries more time to take advantage of it.

COVID-19, he said, had a negative impact on the economy, resulting in unemployment, a difficult business environment, and insufficient funding from the National Treasury, posing a funding challenge for students.

"We acknowledge that unemployment and underemployment as well as a challenging environment for loanees to start and run businesses, has affected HELB loan repayment," said Ringera. 

He added, "This, coupled with inadequate funding from the Exchequer [The National Treasury], has inadvertently created a funding challenge for students seeking HELB Loans.”

Ringera noted that the move is aimed at encouraging loanees to repay their loans to allow the facility  benefit other students.

In 2013, the loans board offered a 100% waiver to 10,110 beneficiaries who paid off 1.3 billion shillings. In 2018, the exercise resulted in loan repayments totaling 870 million shillings from 9,998 beneficiaries.