The government has appointed a new board of directors to oversee recovery of troubled Kenya Union of Savings and Credit Cooperatives (KUSCCO).
The board which will be chaired by Kenya National Police DT Sacco chairman David Mategwa is expected to restructure KUSCCO to enhance its efficiency and governance, recover assets and safeguard interests of Saccos and prepare the organisation for its transition into a federation.
“The appointment of the new board marks a crucial step in revitalising KUSCCO and ensuring its stability and growth in alignment with the government’s cooperative sector reforms,” said Cooperatives and MSMEs Development Cabinet Secretary Wycliffe Oparanya.
Following KUSCCO’s financial turmoil which revealed a Ksh 13 billion loss last year, an interim board was appointed for a period of one year to develop and implement recovery strategy as well and reconstruct books of accounts to ascertain the union’s true financial position.
The interim board also oversaw completion and implementation of statutory and forensic audits and amended the union’s bylaws including recovery strategies.
“KUSCCO has been able to pay about Ksh 130 million and is in the process of making more recoveries. As a ministry we are also looking at the government if it can come in and also development partners because we feel it was playing an important role,” said Oparanya.
According to Oparanya, KUSCCO’s transition to a federation will ensure the Sacco umbrella body becomes an advocacy union for the Sacco sector.
Oparanya has also appointed a five member Committee of Experts to help in the review of the Sacco Societies Act 2008 in order to align the law with emerging trends.
The committee which is chaired by Scotland’s Capital Credit Union Chief Executive Officer Marlene Shiels is expected to propose amendments which will see the establishment of central liquidity facility to enhance financial stability of Sacco sector, create Sacco Deposit Guarantee Fund to safeguard members’ deposits and establish shared services, legal and administrative framework.