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SACCOs & Cooperatives Challenged Amid COVID19 Scare

Nkombezi making a speach at the Dwasco Sacco AGM Nkombezi making a speach at the Dwasco Sacco AGM Joseph Mazizi- ZBS

Ministry of Industry has tipped cooperatives and Saccos in the country to devise measures that would maintain and cushion their membership in the face of COVID 19 which they say will soon become an economic problem other than just a health issue.

This is according to the Registrar of cooperatives in the ministry Wiskes Nkombezi who was speaking in Nkhotakota on Sunday on the sidelines of Dwasco Sacco Annual General Meeting.

According to Nkombezi the sailing is not easy for cooperatives and Saccos in the country as the COVID 19 pandemic is now becoming a serious economic problem.

"The way they have been transacting their business in one way or the other they will be affected so it is high time SACCOs start putting in place measures that would help them serve their members better." Nkombezi said.

Malawi Union of Savings and Credit Cooperatives Musco's head of Finance and Human Resource Uchizi Nkhata shares the same view while commending Dwasco Sacco for continuing to make profit when the economy is not in good shape.

"Essentially what we are advising the SACCOs is to look at the mobilization strategies, that is to increase the membership like what the Dwasco Sacco has done to open up the bond extending to other sectors not only within the Sugar company," said Nkhata.

Outgoing chairperson of Dwasco Sacco Justin Dzinkambani while admitting they have already started losing its membership, he says they have introduced new products that would help coax new members to join.

"We have been affected by COVID 19 of course but we can say things are not completely bad with us, we are still making profits while devising measures of making sure that we are not badly affected," Dzinkambani said.

Dwasco Sacco has in 2019 registered a profit of about 83 million kwacha slightly higher from 2018's 76 million kwacha profit with a membership of about 4200.

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Last modified on Monday, 27/07/2020

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