AMENDMENT DOUBLES HESLB REPAYMENT RATE TO 15%

Attorney General (AG), Mr George Masaju.

Beneficiaries of Higher Education Students’ Loans Board (HESLB) will have their salaries deducted by 15 per cent monthly to repay the loan, Attorney General (AG), Mr George Masaju, announced here yesterday.

Currently, the bursar beneficiaries repay their loans through a monthly deduction of eight per cent only, with the new amendment therefore almost doubling the repayment rate. Mr Masaju made the announcement when tabling a bill to amend the Higher Education Students’ Loan Board Act.

The bill which aims at intensifying loan recovery and improving the board’s operations, is among the Written Laws Miscellaneous Amendments Acts, 2016, tabled yesterday for amendment. Other laws that were amended are the Civil Aviation Act, the Environmental Management Act and the Public Service Act.

There were also the Surface and Marine Transport Regulatory Authority Act, the Transport Licensing Act, the Treasury Registrar - Powers and Functions Act and the Weight and Measures Act.

According to AG Masaju, higher education loan beneficiaries will have a grace period of one year after completing studies before starting repaying the loan. Mr Masaju noted that the loan beneficiaries on self employment will have to commit 10 per cent of their monthly taxable income or monthly repayment of not less than 120,000/-.

“These new regulations aim at ensuring that the loan’s board increases collection to make it capable of issuing loans to more students,” said the AG. Under the new amendment, employers will have 28 days to submit names of new employees to HESLB for verification, with the failure considered as a criminal offence.

Employer failing to submit names to the board, according to Mr Masaju will be subjected to a fine amounting to 1m/-.

The law also suggests that HESLB officials or its agents will have the mandate to examine records of all employees to verify loan repayment status.

Daily News