SASRA Urges Sacco leaders to embrace cooperation
Sacco Societies Regulatory Authority (SASRA) CEO Peter Njuguna has pointed out that the only way to achieve greatness was if there was some degree of collaboration amongst the different players.
“We have realized that Sacco actually collaborates significantly with various service providers because Sacco’s alone cannot provide the services. Courtesy of the collaboration we have had so far, you will note that we have grown and indeed we are doing well every year both in deposits and our asset growth despite the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Njuguna.
Njuguna noted the cooperative movement presently boasts of over 14 million members and that despite the number, there is still a huge potential for the movement to reach unimaginable numbers if Saccos come together, cooperate and collaborate to come up with efficient means of ensuring that products and services developed are responsive and attractive depending on the social economic environment they operate in.
He said that other than Saccos getting together to efficiently serve members, both the government and the entire industry needed to join forces in order to take the business to higher heights.
Njuguna added that as the cooperative movement makes strides to come together with other service providers to empower members through trainings, education and provision of quality, relevant and responsive products and services, it was also crucial to question if the collaboration was bringing the optimum and the desired results.
“Are our past partnerships, performances and collaborations able to sustain growth? What new aspect can we incorporate so as to serve members conveniently, efficiently, timely and in a secure environment? What can we change that will sustain growth and development of the sector in order to improve members’ lives?” the SASRA CEO posed.
He pointed out that even as Saccos expand through the establishment of Sacco branches, deployment of agency banking and exploitation of mobile and internet platforms to reach new members, the Sacco’s needed to measure their growth relative to the GDP so as to establish whether or not they are developing.
He encouraged delegates to look into the level, the intensity and the strategy used to accelerate development and find effective means to sustain growth even as they join hands by attending trainings and education forums such as KUSSCO’s leadership convention and others.
Njuguna urged the society not to see each other as competitors but instead use their partnerships as a distinctive advantage to reinvent their relationship as a powerful tactic approach to Sacco’s’ problems.
He further added that it was imperative for cooperative societies to understand the underlining needs of members as they endeavor to serve them.
Sacco should seek alliances that enhance their stability, efficiency and deep inclusion that meet their visions and long-term goals as institutions,” he said.
The SASRA CEO expressed concern that certain Saccos were recording stunning growth each year while others were performing dismally.
“In 2019, the total assets of 175 institutions were in the hands of only 31 organizations commanding 70% of the total assets. Come 2020, they claimed more to get to 72% and in 2021, the percentage went even higher.”
Njuguna assured delegates that SASRA would stay true to its role of regulating and developing the industry by promoting sound business practices that are geared towards ensuring stability, growth of the entire industry, access of financial services and the protection members’ funds.
The Commissioner for Cooperative Development Mr David Obonyo said that some Saccos were greatly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic forcing many to close down and lay off their members.
“One of the major challenges Saccos experienced was non-remittances. This issue greatly affected Saccos based in the hospitality and tourism industry such as hotels. Quite a number of the hotels closed down and consequently had to lay off their members. Their closure meant that they were not able to remit their monthly deductions. The other challenge we are having right now is the low adaption of ICT through which Saccos can offer their services very effectively and efficiently to the members,” he said.
Co-operatives Commissioner David Obonyo advised Sacco leaders to explore other sustainable ways of acquiring income so as to overcome some of the prominent challenges facing Sacco’s presently.
Obonyo pointed out that the government is committed to creating a convenient working environment for Saccos to carry out their businesses effectively.
He said that the government is currently working on coming up with a nation-wide cooperative that will offer a platform for cooperatives to ride on and eventually protect them from cyber-attacks as well as assist them in offering quality service.
