Kenya's ultimate economic paradox of unclaimed assets

Kenya is the land of endless beauty. One is its beautiful landscape, starting from the sandy beaches of Lamu to the snow peaks of Mount Kenya. Kenya is also beautiful in the hearts of its people. An ordinary Kenyan is a complete contrast to the politicians.

We are humble, welcoming and dreamers. Tribalism and nepotism are radicalising us. Noted how everyone nowadays is bitter and easy to provoke; it’s all economics. Want evidence on our good-heartedness? 

Foreigners have been coming ashore for centuries; Persians, Indians, Arabs, Portuguese, Britons, Danes, among others. They are still coming. Visit a high-end mall and watch the mosaic of nationalities that have made Kenya their home, including envoys of superpowers who eventually returned. 

Kenya is also beautiful in another way: the variety of institutions. Some are well-known, others less known despite their importance. There are 123 regulatory authorities and agencies from online sources.

Let’s give credit where it’s due. Who thought of the Unclaimed Financial Assets Authority (UFAA)? Prof JH Kimura reveals, “Late Joe Ngigi came up with the idea. I helped him to come up with the name, and together we drafted the basic act, then got help from the Attorney General, Treasury Cabinet Secretary, his Principal Secretary and CBK Governor Njuguna Ndung’u. Then it went to Parliament.”

UFAA website states that “The Unclaimed Financial Assets Authority is a State corporation established under the National Treasury pursuant to the Unclaimed Financial Assets Act. No. 40 of 2011.

“The primary mandate of the authority is to receive unclaimed financial assets from holders of such assets, safeguard these unclaimed assets, and reunite the assets with their rightful owners.”

Its website left my head spinning. We have Sh115.03 billion worth of unclaimed assets and only Sh2.84 billion payout or 2.5 per cent. Setting up this authority was a mark of genius. Where was that money before? That would be a good thesis or movie. And there must have been unclaimed assets since Kenya got a semblance of a country in 1895. We got Sh115 billion in 15 years. How much was unclaimed over the years? 

UFAA is innovative; it is now in Huduma Centres, bringing services closer to the people. Huduma Centre is another social or public innovation that needs credit. Can all post offices become Huduma Centres? Make it even more interesting, give us franchises to run Huduma Centres! 

Let’s ask a few hard questions.

One, why is money (pesa) not being claimed, Sh115 billion, when economic suffering is our new anthem?

I always see the reaction when I give someone just Sh1,000. Maybe some people are not aware that such financial assets exist. A mzee might die without anyone knowing he had an insurance cover, a bank account, shares in some companies or other deposits. 

The money could be disputed, e.g. in succession. Or maybe the financial institution went under. The list can be longer. It is also possible that a change in systems can lead to unclaimed assets. We used to get dividend checks through the post office; now it’s online. How many people own post office boxes today? 

The amount of unclaimed assets demonstrates how rich this country is. Add the claimed assets and stolen assets. Two, what is that money doing? Is it invested? In what? Will the claimants get part of that return on investment? 

Three, what would be the economic impact of that money if it got into the mainstream economy? The expressway cost us less than Sh115 billion.

Four, why is it so hard to connect money with its owners, who desperately need it?  I would be curious to know the characteristics of the claimants and original asset owners. 

Does UFAA actively trace the asset owners or possible claimants? I suspect I have some assets in UFAA, and no one has ever contacted me. In the age of AI and all the software, connecting money and its owners is not that hard. 

A good example, in my hobby of exploring Kenya’s colonial history, I easily connect historical houses with their former owner who are not even in Kenya.

Some of the claimants may not be aware of the money. Don’t we have the next of kin? Would chiefs not know the families, the same way they write letters in land sales?  UFAA should meticulously search for money owners; they have enough money for that. Imagine a call from UFAA asking you to come for money you were not even aware of?

I doubt if the founders of UFAA knew there was this much money unclaimed. Let’s take the next step and reunite money and its owners; it’s fair and just.

That money would act as an economic stimulus just like a tax cut. The current state of the economy calls for help from any source. Noted how we turned WhatsApp groups into harambee forums?

The value of unclaimed assets should be going down as technology advances, literacy goes up, and institutions become proactive in connecting money with its owners.

Having unclaimed assets under the prevailing economic circumstances is the ultimate economic paradox. Let us resolve it.