New Ethics Team to Safeguard Sacco Funds

Business Daily (Nairobi)

28 June 2011

The government has moved to protect the more than Sh250 billion members’ savings in cooperative societies by establishing a commission to deal with ethical issues in the cooperative movement.

According to the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Co -operative Development and Marketing Seno Nyakenyanya the newly formed Ethics Commission for Co-operatives Societies (ECCOS) will handle all cooperative ethical and integrity issues.

“The commission is empowered to thoroughly deal with any member of the board that attempts to mismanage members’ funds,” said Mr Nyakenyanya.

The PS was speaking in Nakuru town during the launching of a Sh10 million financial software and official opening of Vision Afrika Sacco Nakuru branch.

The PS said the cooperative movement has assets in excess of Sh210 billion which represents 31 per cent of the national savings and it was therefore important to protect the money against any mismanagement.

“The Sacco have played a key role in mobilisation of financial resources and will be a major player in the realization of Vision 2030 and that is why we want to protect each and every penny saved by members at all cost,” said the PS.

The PS hailed Vision Afrika Sacco for installing the new software saying it is critical in the development of the Sacco in the wake of increasing stiff competition from the microfinance institutions.

He urged cooperative societies to embrace the use of ICT to improve on efficiency.

“In the increasingly competitive market, only Saccos that will embrace and modernize their ICT will survive,’ noted the PS.

Afrika Vision Sacco, which is made up of small scale traders in Nakuru and Nyandarua Counties was started in 2004 with a membership of 100.

The Sacco chairman, Nahashon Thuita King’ori, said the membership has grown to more than 6,000 members with an asset base of Sh60 million and loan portfolio of Sh50 million.

The Sacco subsector is one of the economic pillar of our development blue print, Vision 2030.

According to a survey carried out by the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA), Kenya’s cooperative sector has the highest mobilization in Africa and is rated seventh in the world.

Kenya also has a large concentration of cooperative which represent 67 per cent of all the societies in Africa.

AllAfrica – All the Time