Saccos were formed through the spirit of togetherness, mutual support, and pooling of resources together for the good of all members. These virtues were later adopted by international cooperative alliances to form part of the virtues of every cooperative society.
The virtues ensured the formation of great cooperative movements.
The fruits of the cooperative movement are manifesting in almost every sector of the economy. An example is the dairy industry where we have the Kenya Cooperative Creameries, Kinangop Dairy Limited, and many more.
I would like to reflect on the basic reasons why we register as members of Saccos: savings and credit. I would also like to raise a fundamental concern about the direction most cooperatives are taking i.e. rushing to make big profits instead of advocating that members should save and ensuring affordable, flexible, and cheap credit to members. Issues of dividends, bonuses, and interests should be among the leanest motivations as to why an individual should join a Sacco.
Sacco boards should check into their products and ask themselves one fundamental question….. What are our products’ aims and objectives? Do they increase profits or are they geared towards making the lives of our members better?
Every cooperative board should strive to ensure they stay focused and respect the meaning and the spirit of a Sacco: savings and credit.
Saccos today have lost their memberships to self-help groups which mostly subscribe and connect more to members’ interests. Sacco leaders should ask themselves why their members are joining self-help groups whose objectives almost rhyme with those of Saccos.
Cooperative officers and Saccos Societies Regulatory Authority (Sasra) need to ensure the products offered by Saccos are in tandem with the meaning and spirit of the word Sacco. They should also ensure Saccos are not a profit-making entity but rather an avenue to promote better living standards of members as well as being the absolute reason why the cooperative movement originated.
The success of a Sacco should never be rated by the amount of interest, bonuses, and dividends issued to members but by how best a Sacco’s products improve the living standards of members.
I call upon all cooperators to consider how their Saccos are meeting the goals and objectives that encouraged them to subscribe as members of Saccos.
By Paul Ngugi
Ngugi is a police officer based at the NPCE campus. He holds a degree in cooperative business from the Cooperative University of Kenya
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