Vipingo Workers Savings and Credit Cooperative Society Limited, established in 1988 to cater for the financial needs of workers in Kilifi South, Kilifi County, faces an uncertain future due to mismanagement of members’ funds.
The Sacco’s instability is caused by irregular lending practices.
The chronic financial mismanagement, highlighted by a Ksh41 million loss in an audit report, has been exacerbated by the board’s failure to hold annual general meetings for 6 years, effectively treating the SACCO as a personal enterprise.
The audit report exposed multiple malpractices, including fictitious dividend payments spanning a decade, financial book manipulations, and the loss of Ksh3 million from the Sacco account.
Speaking about the society’s decline, Former Chairman Abdul Mohammed pointed fingers at a clique within the governing board operating with impunity and called upon the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission to intervene and elect new board members to restore the Sacco’s integrity.
He revealed that members who have been withdrawing from the troubled SACCO have the challenge of retrieving their shares which now amount to millions of shillings.
One of the Sacco’s board members disclosed that the board deliberately ignored audit report recommendations, such as debt recovery and suspensions for those implicated in fraud, further jeopardizing the institution.
Several board members resigned due to the institution’s tarnished image. Despite the remaining 40 active members reaching out to Kilifi County Cooperative Commissioner officers, they received no response.
The society’s tale has raised concerns about corruption cover-ups that have contributed to the downfall of Saccos across the country.
By Collins Akong’o
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