Mwalimu Sacco’s deposits jump 7% to 44 billion shillings

Last year, deposits at the Mwalimu National Savings and Credit Cooperative Society reached 44.3 billion shillings, reflecting a stamp of approval from its members drawn largely from the teaching fraternity.

This is a 6.9 per cent increase from the 41.4 billion shillings deposits the teachers’ Sacco raised in 2020 – at a time when the government refused to raise teachers’ salaries. teachers.

The state failed to honor various collective agreements it had concluded with civil servants. Nevertheless, the Sacco still managed to increase its membership by recruiting 2,058 additional members, which explains the growth in deposits.

The Sacco also increased its assets – which include loans it made to members – by about 5% to 60.6 billion shillings.

Sacco Chairman John Ochieng noted that this growth has occurred despite a difficult operating environment marked by the negative effects of Covid-19, slowing teacher employment and a freeze in salary increases.

“The success was enabled by concrete steps to streamline the activity and cost of optimization across five key result areas,” Ochieng said in a statement in which he also announced his exit from the Sacco.

The five key result areas include business growth, customer centricity, digitalization, governance, risk and compliance, and effective human capital management. It comes at a time when Sacco is going through a tough time, with its new management sending the clearest signal that it is ready to cut all ties with the loss-making Spire Bank.

This is expected to relieve a huge financial burden from Sacco’s books.

The Sacco also plans to slow down its real estate business by divesting itself of Mwalimu Assets Management, offloading the remaining houses under a project in Kisaju in Kajiado County, as well as land.

During the reporting period, Sacco increased its income – from investments and interest on loans to members – to 7.58 billion shillings from 7.22 shillings the previous year.

Sacco’s loan portfolio stood at 37.89 billion shillings, down from 38.07 billion shillings, an indication that teachers were borrowing less.

The previous year, loans to members had increased by 13.4% from 33.56 billion shillings in 2019, as guardians borrowed money for maintenance at the height of the pandemic.

Ochieng will leave the Sacco after 15 years of service.

“We believe the new board will protect our members’ funds and maintain momentum,” he said.