Harambee SACCO is repositioning itself to reduce external borrowing through an elaborate programme to re-establish itself as a premier SACCO in the country.
Speaking at a breakfast meeting in Mombasa that brought together Coast Region 86 top savers who have at least one million in savings, the SACCO’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) George Ochiri said the Sh4 billion Shares campaign drive will enable members to invest in the equity of the SACCO.
Ochiri stated members will not make deposits akin to that loan but will commit an investment.
He explained that the voluntary shares drive will guarantee savers a 15 per cent return for the next five years.
“We’ve done all the paperwork, including seeking approval, and are ready to start. We are launching it on the 27th of this month,” the CEO said.
Once in place, the SACCO will improve its liquidity, and compliance and will have done away with external borrowing.
The minimum shares for the programme are 100,000 as opposed to the normal statutory minimum shares of 30,000.
“We mobilise for money which we commit to several investments like matatus or rentals. Now we are saying, we don’t need to go to those. Come to Harambee, there is enough market for money at Harambee. We will invest it and generate enough income to share amongst ourselves,” Ochiri said.
He revealed that the SACCO is doing well thus they need more money to lend to members and to avoid external borrowings.
The CEO noted that they want to comply and beat all the credit ratios and at the same time improve their liquidity and enable them to give longer-term loans, stretching over nine years, compared to the banks.
The Sacco has 79,000 members across the country, with about 2,400 having at least a million in savings. Of these, at least 1,000 are in Nairobi, while the Coast region has 86.
Ochiri said Harambee as a pioneer SACCO is keen to recapture its lost glory. The SACCO has an asset base of about Sh2.5 billion across the country.
“It is the duty of Harambee, all the time, even now, to show direction. So even an activity like this one, we will start it and then the other SACCOs will follow,” Ochiri said.
He went on: “We lost our glory a little, but we are very clear. We are reclaiming it in the next five years.”
Meanwhile, the CEO said their mortgage programme, which started three years ago, has attracted recruits from the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) and some parastatals.
“The uptake is not as high as we anticipated. I think it is a tedious process because we have to go through the standards set by Kenya Mortgage Refinancing Company. But we have indeed had members coming in and acquiring houses through our mortgage facility,” Ochiri said.
Elina Mdawida, one of the top savers from 1995, called on the youth to start saving early when their responsibilities are less.
“When you get employed, start saving immediately when you still have fewer responsibilities, because probably you are unmarried and still have no child,” Mdawida said.
By Sadik Hassan
