Church saccos dishes out over Sh100 bilion in loans to its members

Moshi. A church-owned savings and credit cooperative society (Saccos) in Kilimanjaro Region has extended loans amounting to Sh. 108 billion in the past 27 years.

Already Sh88 billion of the amount loaned has been recovered. Some Sh20 billion outstanding among members of the group estimated to be over 13,000.

The loan portfolio has made the ELCT Northern Diocese Saccos one of the most successful savings and credit facilities out of 109 in the region.

This was revealed here recently by the chief accountant of the Moshi-based loan facility, Mr Elifuraha Mduma, when addressing journalists.

The loans were extended to the Sacco’s 13,315 members, most of whom channeled the funds to establish income generation projects.

He said although repayment of some Sh20.2 billion was still not yet done, the Saccos was on the path to success given the growth chart.

“There are enough indications that our Saccos is growing by leaps and bounds,” he explained, noting that some members have successfully established businesses.

The Saccos initiated by the Northern Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT) had 13,315 members by November last year.

Up to the same month, it had a cumulative membership shares, savings and deposits amounting to Sh2.5 billion, Sh16.3 billion and Sh3 billion respectively.

“As a Saccos, we are proud of our long road to success. This can be seen with our members who have established successful enterprises,” he said.

He said transparency and good accounting practices saved the cooperative from internal crisis and loss or theft of money as is the case with other Saccos.

Mr Mduma said they have targeted to recruit additional 2,000 members and issuance of loans amounting to Sh19.75 billion.

He, however, implored members to continue making savings at the Saccos, seek credits when necessary and to repay the loans in time.

Speaking during the same media brief, an assistant registrar for cooperative societies in Kilimanjaro Region, Ms Jacqueline Senzighe, lauded the cooperative.

She said the ELCT-ND Saccos has distinguished itself as exemplary for its performance compared to 109 other Saccos registered in the region.

“The main challenge facing most of the Saccos revolve around dishonest members,” she said, noting that these include those who delay loan repayment or fail to repay at all.

Ms Senzighe said her office has deployed cooperatives experts to various Saccos to ensure they performed their duties as per the law and regulations.

Two years ago, the Moshi-based ELCT-ND Saccos announced a cut its interest rates to nine per cent.

The move followed a recent directive by the central bank for the lending institutions to bring down their interest rates below 10 per cent.