High defaulting rate in MITECO

Writes Jakotae Omory in Migori town

The enraged members of Migori teachers’ Sacco (MITECO) are eagerly waiting to see what action the MITECO officials are going to take to make these loan defaulters pay their outstanding loan bills.

Defaulting rates have suddenly become brazen in MITECO and members no longer hide their fears from this irreparable economic damage caused by high defaulting rates threatening to wreak this Society.

While addressing members during the MITECO Education day in an indoor meeting held at Rapogi Mixed Primary School, Mr. John Osewe, disclosed to the members that by April, 2010 a colossal amount of money to the tune of Ksh. 17,313,768.50 had not been recovered from the loan defaulters in this society.

On the very day, the Society’s chairman asked the members what action should be taken against these loan defaulters, and the angry teachers advised him to arrest them and take them to court with immediate effect. The members also encouraged the officials to walk the talk and avoid empty talks in the process of this management and economic re-engineering of the Sacco.

However, the officials declined to state the actions they were going to take against these defaulters arguing that they must consult SACRA (Savings and Credit Regulatory Authority) first to advice them on what action is appropriate for these defaulters.

Since it surfaced clearly that over 100-member teachers have defaulted and the monthly-defaulting ratio is Kshs. 388,000, this emerging issue has elicited mixed reactions among the members, with some threatening to pull out if stern action is not taken against these Sacco robbers.

The only advice we can offer to these Migori Sacco Officials is to get it clear from Mahatma Gandhi who once said “Since they are, so I am”, so we don’t understand why Gusii Mwalimu is running their Sacco better than you while it is your neighbouring Sacco, why don’t you borrow a leaf from them to improve?

Lastly, the only viable Teachers’ scheme surviving in the greater Migori that is to say, Migori-Rongo-Uriri-Nyatike districts is the Migori Teachers Childrens’ Education Fund (MITCEF) which is the only avenue open for teachers to secure loans for school fees.