DT-saccos shrug off Covid to post 12 per cent growth
Sasra chief executive Peter Njuguna. FILE PHOTO | NMG
What you need to know:
- Gross loans rose 12.1 percent to stand at Sh474.7 billion as at December 2020 compared to Sh419.6 billion achieved a year earlier.
Deposit-taking (DT-saccos) shrugged off the adverse economic ills brought by Covid-19 menace to post an average of 12 per cent growth on their assets, loans and deposits.
Addressing a saccos delegates congress in Mombasa, Saccos Regulatory Authority (Sasra) chief executive John Mwaka said deposits of the 176 saccos hit Sh431.1 billion being a 13.3 percent growth from Sh380.4 billion registered in 2019.
Gross loans rose 12.1 percent to stand at Sh474.7 billion as at December 2020 compared to Sh419.6 billion achieved a year earlier.
Mr Mwaka said stringent measures had been put in place to safeguard member savings and assets as well as enhance management of 400 non-deposit taking saccos that will now be regulated by Sasra.
“The June 30th deadline applies to any non-DT sacco with over Sh100 million in member deposits. It includes those that mobilise membership and subscription to their share capital through digital or other electronic payment platforms as well as the diaspora non-DT Saccos,” he said.
Themed Saccos beyond Covid-19: Accelerating towards Recovery, the national sacco leaders meet called for introduction of stiffer penalties against public entity heads who have failed to remit Sh3.8 billion deducted from workers’ salaries.
Withholding Sh3.8 billion
“Stern measures must be taken to deter a trend where universities, county governments, water companies and fresh produce entities continue withholding Sh3.8 billion meant for loan repayments, member savings and proceeds of share purchase money,” said Kenya Union of Savings and Credit Co-operatives (Kuscco) group Managing Director George Ototo said.
Mr Ototo said county governments were yet to release legacy non-remittances inherited from the defunct county, municipal and town councils hurting DT-sacco’s expansion plans that meant loss of jobs and revenue to the national treasury taxes.
“The commissioner for co-operatives has powers to freeze the accounts of these offenders, but we take note that despite numerous interventions by the commissioner, not much has been achieved,” he said.
