Savings coops underutilised

Abigail Mawonde Herald Correspondent—

EFFORTS to establish viable Savings and Credit Cooperatives are failing because members are unable to understand the concept, Government has said.SACCOs are bodies created by a group of people with common interests, especially traders. The objective is to save collectively and make loans available to members at affordable rates.

Addressing delegates at the official opening of the SACCOs conference in Harare recently, Small and Medium Enterprises and Cooperative Development Secretary Evelyn Ndlovu said there was need to educate members on the functions of SACCOs if they were going to be successful.

“I can safely say that most of the SACCOs that we have formed to date have failed to take off because most of our members do not understand the concept of SACCOs.

“They do not know what SACCOs are, how they should function and the advantages that accrue from running SACCOs when compared to the usual or ordinary cooperatives.

“Therefore, the Government of Zimbabwe has embraced SACCOs in its Zim-Asset Blueprint as a strategy for financial inclusion, which is the delivery of financial services at affordable costs to disadvantaged low income earners,” she said.

Mrs Ndlovu said if properly utilised, SACCOS would become a key vehicle for the promotion of financial inclusion in the country.

She said there was need to ensure growth in membership numbers and providing appropriate training to members.

Mrs Ndlovu said other countries were at advanced stages with SACCOs.

“I hear in Malawi and Swaziland that their SACCOs are now operating like banks. We have been, for the past two years, trying to establish a SACCO Bank here in Zimbabwe but little progress has been made. We have realised that this can only happen if our members understand the SACCO concept,” she said.