- Kericho commissioner urges Sacco leaders to protect members’ savings.
- Delegates challenged to promote timely loan repayments.
- Members encouraged to diversify their income sources.
The Kericho County Commissioner of Co-operatives, Dr Leonard Oti, has urged top management of Deposit Taking Saccos and Marketing Co-operatives to prioritise prudent management of small-scale farmers’ resources.
He said transparency and accountability in co-operatives were key to success, as new members were attracted by good governance that emphasised prudence. “New members tend to find out where their savings will be well managed and protected, and go there,” he said.
He urged delegates of various societies to take responsibility for educating their members on the need for prompt loan repayment. He observed that this would lower default rates, which otherwise necessitate costly loan provisioning.
“I want to urge you as individual delegates, let’s take the responsibility of making sure that our members repay their loans on time. Let us engage them in zones and even at home. This will reduce the incidences of loan defaults, which were affecting the book balance negatively,” he said.
“We all need good dividends,” he added. “When loan provisioning is very high, it will negatively affect the final dividends to be paid out to you. They will reduce.”
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The Commissioner said Saccos, both in urban and rural areas, played a key role in the country’s economic activity. He pointed out that when dividends are paid, they improve the purchasing power of members and boost the circulation of money in the economy.
He encouraged the delegates, whom he described as the supreme organ of the society, to exercise their mandate wisely by giving timely and well researched suggestions to the board and the management.
He also advised delegates and members to diversify their sources of income, cautioning against depending on a single source such as salaries or tea farming, which he observed could, on many occasions, let one down.
By Benedict Ng’etich
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