Money lenders ‘ambush’ civil servants

in Siavonga

MONEY lenders commonly known as “Bakaloba” on Tuesday swung into action outside Zanaco Bank in Siavonga, to recover their monies from civil servants as they lined up to get their monthly pay.

The lenders, who at monthends keep an eye on the ATM camped outside the bank as early as 07:00 hours, until evening when the civil servants started trooping in to withdraw their salaries.

One civil servant who had his whole salary collected by his lender was heard pleading with the uncompromising lender to at least give him back K700 to pay his house rentals.

“Please napapata nisiyileko ya rent, bazanipisha munyumba ba landlord (please I beg you leave me with something so that I can pay for my house rental, otherwise the landlord will evict me from the house),”

And a Kaloba lender who spoke to the Daily Nation but requested for anonymity said the introduction of Xapit, and online electronic banking service offered by Zanaco, is making it difficult for the lenders to recover their money from their creditors especially civil servants who he said were bad debtors. “In the past before Zanaco introducd Xapit, I used to collect and keep the ATM cards for the people who owed me money, as security and when the salaries were ready, I would simply go to the bank and wait for the owner to withdraw and pay me my share, but now these clever civil servants are able to Xapit their salaries to their wives or friends accounts while you remain with the ATM card like a fool,” he said. Some civil servants in the area are said to be owing thousands in kaloba which is charged at 100 percent interest, a situation that usually leaves the borrower empty handed at the end of the month as their lenders have devised a strategy to wait for them at the bank whenever the government salaries are ready.