By Sheminah Nkhoma

Lilongwe, September 11, Mana: Vice President Dr Micheal Bizwick Usi has called on National Economic Empowerment Fund (NEEF) to ensure transparency and accountability when disbursing funds in the country so that all eligible members can benefit.

Speaking on Wednesday during a meeting with NEEF members at Capital Hill in Lilongwe, Usi said there are many complaints from people who have been applying, saying they are unable to access the funds.

He said that people in rural areas are struggling financially, so there is need to serve them better so that they can have access the loans.

“As we know there are many Malawians who have applied for the loans, so we wanted to discuss the processes and challenges which NEEF faces when disbursing funds so that we can address them and make it easy for people to get the loans,” Usi said.

He said NEEF funds are not related to politics saying this is a government initiative to help and promote economic growth for Malawians.

“The funds are here to help poor Malawians to boost up their economic standards so it does not matter from which side of the country one belongs to or party they support, everyone should have access to the loan,” he stated.

In his remarks, NEEF Board Member, Dr Thabbie Chilongo said the meeting was important as they have discussed on how they can resolve issues which are on the ground without compromising the funds which are for public consumption.

“We want to assure the public that NEEF will always be responsible when disbursing funds so that it benefits people in different areas of the country,” said Chilongo.

He added that NEEF has introduced a new loan called “Vukani “which is a non-collateral loan that people from rural areas who cannot afford to give collateral can access.