The Sauti SACCO cooperative has embarked on a major recruitment drive to boost membership numbers which has drastically gone down due to retirement of majority enlisted civil servants.
The Chairman Elly Ndwiga expressed fears that the general membership fell far below the set targets prompting the urgency to formulate a marketing department to raise the number especially among the youthful employees.
He said the Sacco also intends to diversify recruitment from both the private and informal sectors including retention of retirees to membership base and uptake of various products on offer.
Ndwiga also assured members that the society was opening up avenues to exploit her products by introducing collaterals to complement requirements for guarantors which has been a major impediment to loan seekers in the jua kali sectors.
He was however optimistic that the Sacco was headed to the right path as uptake of loans to members increased by almost Ksh 30 million over the last one years due to the extension of repayment periods of development and super normal loans from four to five years’ period.
Ndwiga told the 48 annual delegates meeting at a Nairobi hotel that plans to further extend the repayment period of super normal loans up to six years to encourage uptake of loans which at the moment was far below projected figures.
During the meeting, Nairobi Cooperative Chief Officer George Mutiso however urged the boards of SACCOs to ensure that servant leadership was the cornerstone of their administrative virtues.
He stressed that prudent management of the society’s affairs were observed at all times especially at this times when Kenyans were going through hard economic times and could hardly afford loans.
“There is 57 million that is just lying at the SACCO, and members are not borrowing. Can we trade with money? 98 percent of deposits should be with members and not 60 or 70 per percent deposits being with members as loan’s, he said.
Mutiso advised the SACCOs that are gearing towards opening a FOSA to ensure that their members were able to access everything they can do in a bank.
Dolphin Aremo, Director of Cooperatives, said that currently the country has around 176 deposits taking SACCOs, with Nairobi commanding 47.
She explained that in 2023 the SACCOs mobilized 640 billion in terms of assets but are currently collecting data for 2024. “We are very optimistic there will be plenty of growth.
During the meeting, the delegates approved payout of dividend at a rate of 10 percent on shares and a payout of 6 percent on deposits.
By Wangare Ndirangu
