Mismanagement of taxi-moto operators’ cooperatives has resulted in members losing interest in giving in their contributions because they do not see any benefit accruing from their savings, according to Rwanda Cooperative Agency (RCA).

This issue, the cooperative regulatory body says, emanates from poor management of these cooperatives, as a result of powers mostly being vested in one person – in most cases the chairperson – who takes unilateral decisions and runs the cooperatives a their personal business.

It’s against this background that RCA organised a two-day workshop intended to impart cooperative members with managerial skills, including financial management. 

Speaking on the sidelines of the training on Friday in Gasabo District’s Remera Sector, RCA’s Chief Cooperative Inspector in the City of Kigali, Abdul Wahab Ntaganda, told The New Times that it has been realised the motorcycle cooperative managers have in most cases been characterised by greed, which has affected thousands of operators saving with them, not to mention their families.

About 85 leaders from 17 taxi-moto cooperatives operating in Gasabo District participated in the training.

From May 7-21, coops held elections for new committees for both the cooperatives and their national federation.

Former leaders who were reported to have poorly managed funds were not eligible for re-election.

It is the new committee members who are attending from the ongoing RCA workshops designed to help revitalise cooperatives in the country. 

"We hope that these new leaders will, after this training, act in compliance with the law, fulfill their responsibilities, and work in the interest of all their cooperative members,” he said.

Accountability concerns

Ntaganda said that the problem that the motorcyclists have is not that their cooperatives cannot grow, rather it is lack of accountability.

"Their kind of job requires a lot of physical effort, involves working through nights, meaning the operator is likely not to work for many years. This even makes it more important for them to save so that they have something to fall back to later on.

"It is unfathomable that a cooperative with 300 or 400 members who work daily and regularly remit their contributions can have their account with no money on it,” he said.

François-Xavier Habumugisha, one of the trainees and secretary of Tubane Hafi cooperative – a motorcycle taxi cooperative with 320 motorcyclists in Remera Sector – said the training was timely given that he and his colleagues were all new members on their executive committee and considering the tasks that await them. 

"We had no knowledge on how best to manage cooperative funds. But, thanks to this training, we will be able to keep proper books of accounts to ensure that our members reap the benefits of their hard work.

"I am sure that, once we are truly accountable to the members, the benefits will be immense, we will also be able to attract more members,” he said. 

The chairperson of Rwanda Federation of Taxi-Moto Riders (FERWACOTAMO), Daniel Ngarambe, welcomed the training, saying that better managed cooperatives not only positively impact their members but also the economy.

"You should use the skills acquired to improve your service delivery and to address problems that members were facing, especially those related to poor management that has dogged the cooperative movement for long ,” he told the motorcyclists. 

"Some members failed to support their families after getting involved in accidents yet they had been saving with their cooperative. They received no profits from the savings, neither the principle they saved,” he said, adding that this is one of the main reasons why commercial motorcyclists remain suspicious of their own cooperatives.

"We want to build cooperatives that have sustainability. With your means, you can even establish a financial institution and significantly grow your assets,” said Gabriel Sinigenga, the Director of Business of Development and Employment for Gasabo District. 

"As part of the efforts to streamline the cooperative movement in Rwanda, RCA will soon compel the coop managers to periodically file financial activity reports with the agency,” he said.

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