The government through the Ministry of Cooperatives on Thursday, March 28, announced new measures to save the over 1700 small Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies (SACCOs) from collapsing.
Cooperatives Cabinet Secretary Simon Chelugui while addressing the press noted the government had come up with a digital regulatory platform that would be used to enhance the growth of the upcoming Saccos.
According to Chelugui, the shared services platform will onboard all small Saccos and support them with technology which he noted was very expensive to fund by the small societies.
Chelugui noted a lack of adequate technology had immensely contributed to the fall of the upcoming Saccos which were exposed to cybercrime.
"The level of management is low, and the use of technology is also low thus they are bound to be attacked digitally. Cybercrimes are high and we have seen fraud affecting these Saccos," Chelugui noted.
“Many Saccos are coming up, it is only us to appreciate and see where they are coming from and begin to support them from that low level,” the CS added.
The CS further noted the govt was also planning to launch a mentorship programme for the upcoming Saccos in a bid to educate the Sacco members on the best ways to operate the societies.
Chelugui also attributed the collapse of most Saccos to oversight problems citing that most societies failed to follow prudent financial procedures.
The Ministry would also adopt a measure where the Saccos would not allowed to invest in capital activities like the purchase of expensive property for instance construction of buildings without regulatory approval.
"That means they are guided and their investments evaluated by a third body to see their viability. So the regulated Saccos can't go into erratic decisions investments," the Cooperatives CS stated.
The move comes barely two months after CS Chelugui ordered a crackdown on all Saccos in a regulation exercise geared towards ensuring proper management of funds.
Speaking during a meeting with farmers in Nairobi on January 30, the CS attributed his directive to complaints lodged by members of various Saccos.
