Many teachers wonder why despite the complaints over the looting at the Mwalimu National Sacco (MNS) a thing that threatens to collapse their livelihoods, the Ministry under which cooperatives fall under and SASRA is silent.
SASRA which stands for Sacco Societies Regulatory Authority is the body mandated with regulation, supervision, licensing and levy contributions in all Sacco Societies in Kenya. This is as per the Sacco Societies Act of 2008.
SASRA regulates deposit-taking Sacco societies and MNS falls under it.
Sources tell cnyakundi.com, that the silence of both the ministry and SASRA is very unfortunate because, ‘they have been bought’.
When teachers pleaded with us to ask questions on their behalf, we reached the Principal Secretary, State Department of Co-operatives Mr. Noor Ismail whose docket the Saccos falls in, but our questions went unanswered.
Mwalimu National Sacco has pocketed regulators – Source .
SASRA too, whose CEO John Mwaka used to collude with former Commissioner for Cooperative Ms. Mary Mungai, ‘to look the other way’ as Saccos are being looted, has maintained the tempo.
He doesn’t care about the economic effect of the collapse of Mwalimu National Sacco.
Evidence suggests that top managers at SASRA are on the payroll of Mwalimu National Sacco.
Officials at the Ministry too are on the payroll of MNS. The biggest beneficiary, as per sources is Mr. Noor Ismail who is alleged to have pocketed an eight figure sum.
All in the name of getting ahead through bribes while silencing teachers’ voices.
It follows that the lack of prosecution for board and managerial misconduct and criminal activities in the Sh1 trillion sector has emboldened both new and old cartels who don’t fear regulators as they ‘eat’ together.
In a functioning system, the board would be very different in thinking to most of the suggestions by the managers of the struggling Saccos. For example, the move by Mwalimu National Sacco to acquire Spire Bank shouldn’t have been accepted by the managers and the board of the Sacco if due diligence is anything to go by.
Is Mwalimu Sacco Going Under Due Corruption And Embezzlement?
The two tire system of having managers and then the board should solve most of the rush decisions which end up eating into the revenues due to accepting bad investment decisions
Mr. Noor and Mr. Mwaka are old hands in the looting and ‘looking the other way’ business. It would have been the prerogative of the Commissioner for Cooperatives which has a new CEO or the other bodies to raise the alarm.
Co-operative Alliance of Kenya has done well to seek answers on what ails Mwalimu National Sacco, but the response is yet to come.
Co-operative Alliance of Kenya seeks answers from mismanaged Mwalimu National Sacco
It is more laughable that Ms. Mary Mungai, the former Commissioner for Co-operatives has been brought back from retirement, and appointed to Chair a five-member Ethics Commission for Co-operative Societies (Eccos) whose mandate is to promote good governance, enforce ethical conduct and anti-corruption reforms within the cooperative societies.
Going by her record as the Commissioner for Co-operatives, rest assured that there’s nothing good she will bring to the table in the 3 years she will be serving at Eccos.
Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Cooperative cabinet secretary Peter Munya erred in this choice and it is a waste of taxpayers’ money.
Instead SASRA and Commissioner for Cooperatives Development need to up their game.
EACC instead of SASRA
In the three years I have concentrated on writing about rot in the Saccos, SASRA has often been blamed for being lame-duck.
No wonder the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) boss Twalib Mbarak admitted receiving 400 complaints from Sacco members, only 16 of which were relevant to EACC. So what happens to the rest, the over 380 complaints?
If SASRA took its work seriously, such issues wouldn’t reach EACC.
Many Saccos had in the past failed to adopt risk management standards, leading to defaults and flouting of prudential requirements.
But the rot seems to be at SASRA, because at one point, staff at SASRA had complained about the agency. See link below:
EACC should look at the allegations of bribery to silence the truth financed through bribery by Mwalimu National Sacco managers.
PS Noor Ismail and SASRA boss John Mwaka should be picked up by EACC ASAP.
