The theft was announced in the meeting on the functioning and management of small-scale financial institutions in the Eastern Province, that was held in Nyagatare District on Friday. The meeting was attended by Governor of the Central Bank of Rwanda (BNR) John Rwangombwa, Governor of the Eastern Province Fred Mufulukye, district officials and their deputies, as well as the directors and managers of all Saccos in the province.
The Umurenge Saccos were started countrywide with the mandate of improving public access to financial services . In 2008 access to finance was rated at 21%, while the FinScope Survey 2016 ranked the same at of 89%.
However, according to BNR’s head of Small-Scale Financial Institutions Auditing Department, Kevin Kavugizo, the Saccos have been dogged by embezzlement, poor financial management, non-performing loans and illegal termination of job contracts resulting into court cases, a combination of which has caused losses worth Rwf556 million.
Governor Rwangombwa said Saccos have been so instrumental in addressing access to finance challenges and those embezzling and mismanaging them shall be brought to book.
“We ask Sacco managers to use them in the development of the population because they have been set up for the development of rural areas. We will also take serious measures to punish those who misappropriate resources and steal from Saccos,” he said.
He urged residents to work closely with Saccos, promising that those who perform poorly will be expelled.
Eastern Province Governor Fred Mufulukye urged participants to improve the functioning and coordination and to monitor activities and projects to maximize efficiency.
He asked security institutions to cooperate with local authorities to assist Saccos in recovering loans.
During the meeting, it was resolved that Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB) and Police will investigate individuals suspected of mismanaging Sacco funds with intent of prosecuting them before the courts of law. Umurenge Saccos were established in 2009 to address access tto finance challenges. after the government realized that the public was not accessing financial services properly. Today, they have an equity of Rwf121billion and 2.7 million members.
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