By Deogratias Mmana:
United Civil Servants Savings and Credit Cooperative (UCSS) has posted a record K7 billion profit for the year ended December 2023.
The Sacco has since declared a K2 billion dividend in correspondence to its 17.6 percent dividend payout rate.
UCSS Board Chairman Sanderson Nyambwani said the union’s total assets grew to K28 billion in the year under review from K16.8 billion in 2022. The report says 76 percent of these assets are in loans.
UCSS Chief Executive Officer Francis Waliwa asked the government to review the outdated Cooperative Development Policy decrying the huge amounts of money that go to a third person through civil servants’ payroll deductions.
- Advertisement -
Minister of Trade and Industry Gwengwe assured the industry that his ministry would move to ensure a conducive environment for Saccos in the country.
“We are working hard to have a revised Cooperative Development Policy approved by the government, The Ministry submitted the policy document to OPC of which at the moment we are waiting for the PS Committee to convene. Once this stage is passed, we will quickly embark on the process of reviewing our Cooperative Societies Act (1998) which is long overdue for overhaul.
“I have noted huge sums of money you are paying to the third party just to access payroll deductions. I must say that this is retrogressive to our efforts of financial inclusion and encouraging building of savings by Civil Servants. I will therefore, quickly consult and arrange meetings with responsible stakeholders to ensure we address the issue,” Gwengwe said.
UCSS was started with 113 teachers of Mzimba district as a study club in 1992 and was registered as Mzimba Teachers Sacco on November 24 1994.
- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -
It was later rebranded to accommodate all civil servants throughout the country and currently it has 21 branches and seven satellites.
