KUSCCO Group Managing Director George Ototo has revealed that most county governments have failed to remit recoveries from payrolls to Saccos to enable them operate efficiently.
Speaking during the 8th Annual Sacco Leaders Convention in Mombasa, Ototo said the non-remittances amounted to Ksh1.4 billion whereas amounts from other entities like government owned enterprises was Ksh2.8 billion, bringing the total amount owed to Saccos to Ksh4.2 billion.
The theme of the convention was ‘Saccos Championing the Bottom-Up Economy for Growth and Sustainability’.
The director said that as a result of non-remittances, some Saccos have been unable to disburse loans leading to loss of membership, which subsequently affects savings.
Ototo revealed that a law exists that empowers the commissioner of cooperatives to freeze the accounts of the entities not remitting deductions to Saccos.
“We’re also encouraging the use of negotiation techniques to help Saccos recover their money,” he said.
Addressing the latest reports of cyber attacks and crimes affecting financial institutions, the director stated that Saccos were continuously under training to ensure that service providers in terms of channels and integrators were institutions that were credible and strong enough to offer the needed services.
He added that Saccos are consistently engaging members on financial literacy to continue promoting responsive decisions in managing wealth.
“We encourage our members to have stronger systems,” he said, adding that the integrators in the software space are also being properly vetted.
He hinted that partnerships with service providers such as Safaricom and other telcos have helped solve some of the cyber-related problems facing the cooperative movement and the financial sector as a whole.
He expressed confidence that the cooperative model was strong and effective since it is based on membership.
He added that since Saccos are owned by members, the members receive benefits such as gaining affordable credits, accessing dividends annually and also standing a chance to be elected officials to take part in the decision making of the Saccos to help them grow.
By George Otieno
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