How not to frustrate and dismay investors..

How not to usurp investors decision – making power & rights…

Home Business Sacco in Nyahururu, Nyandarua County is quite dismayed with SASRA (Sacco Societies Regulatory Authority). The Sacco has accused SASRA of interference in its internal affairs..
… Reports from the Sacco chairman indicate that members are investing well and the Board and management putting in their best.
The Sacco is not only breaking even but also posting good profits. Consequently, its delegates and management had, a few weeks ago, decided to pay its 2026 dividends to shareholders (owner share or capital shares) at over 15 percent and interest on normal or deposit shares at 10 percent respectively.
Unfortunately, SASRA has been insisting that payments at the percentages are too high and thus bad and will thus erode and impede future operations and other investments initiatives of the Sacco.
.. At last, according to the chairman, SASRA has accented to the Sacco paying at about 10% & 4% for dividends and interest respectively. “We’ve really struggled with SASRA to get these final figures,” the chairman said during a news interview with a local TV station in Nyahururu.

Undoubtedly & in the recent past, some unscrupulous Saccos’ management and boards teams have connived to pay their shareholders at big percentages in order to attract huge numbers of savers and investor’s. Yet, this should not be reason enough to generalize regulations.
Some of the unethical Saccos have even borrowed huge loans specifically to pay out huge dividends and interest and with some of the Saccos even later running into cash flow problems.
Indeed, some of the Saccos have, in recent years, been forced to shut down due to the bad practices that have rendered them eventually totally illiquid.
Yet this is not good enough to subject all Saccos to such suspicions and even interfere with their rights to make own decisions and run their affairs autonomously.

According to Home Business Sacco, they have made genuine profits which they can account for and have every right to handsomely rewards their investors not only to encourage them to invest even more but to also help them use the dividends to sort out some of their current financial needs given the tough economic times.

Given the recent developments, it may now be prudent for a discourse to ensue that will address and sort out the Home Business Sacco complaints.
All Saccos members and especially those that diligently save and invest in their organizations expecting to enjoy the fruits of their labor annually in dividends and interest earnings need to remain alert and even call out excessive and unreasonable regulatory tendencies.

History is replete with cases and incidents where regulators have overzealously exercised authority and even unilaterally imposed rules and laws (without paying due regard to the constitutionally provided public participation processes) which have later backfired and even forced the organizations to make poor coerced decision and later put them on their knees in poor performance and even bankruptcy.

Definitely, the complaints by Home Business Sacco must raise the Saccos and their ecosystem antennas higher to ensure that what the Home Business Sacco has gone through will neither become the standard nor rule that will affects all Sacco societies in the future.

The millions of Sacco societies members must keep alert and even work to ensure their societies’ independence and hence assured prospects for better fortune and continuing growth and development. All Saccos must continue working diligently and even fighting for an environment that ensures progression into an even brighter Saccos future in the country.