By Munene Maina.
Kenyans have been cautioned against joining Savings and Co-operative Societies (Saccos) operating like pyramid schemes which are on the rise in the country.
Deputy Co-operative Commissioner, J. K. Mwangi called on co-operators to gather knowledge from their County Co-operative officers before joining the Saccos.
He said the new societies are enticing co-operators with attractive services promising cheap housing products and high interest rates.
“Some of them have been in existence for a short while but they have accumulated billions of shillings,” he said. Mwangi who spoke during Egerton University Sacco Annual General Meeting urged members to invest in their well-known Saccos or risk being swindled money.
He said the government was taking drastic actions to ensure all Co-operatives adhered to good market conduct, adding that those that will not comply will be deregistered.
He said all Saccos operating in different counties where they were not registered must amend their by-laws.
Mwangi also noted that many Saccos are losing money through hacking and urged Saccos to improve and secure their ICT systems.
“Millions of shillings are being lost in the Saccos. Board of directors need to create interest on how ICT is used in Saccos,” he said.
Some service providers, Mwangi observed were also working with some employees to defraud Saccos.
