-Over 1.3bn collected

The Rwanda Cooperative Agency (RCA), a regulatory body for cooperatives, has clarified that grassroots savings and credit cooperatives (Umurenge Sacco) have not yet become fully operational.

RCA Director General, Damien Mugabo was reacting to concerns that the Umurenge Sacco, now in 412 sectors across the country, have not helped beneficiaries and that residents have started pulling out.

In an interview with The New Times, Mugabo said that the saving schemes haven’t yet become operational.

"They have not yet started operating, how can such complaints emerge? What we have been doing is helping them get established. We are now moving to another phase of registering and giving them licenses to begin operating,” Mugabo explained.

"Those people spreading such negative propaganda may have hidden agendas, they have unclear motives.”

He pointed out that government put in place Umurenge Sacco to encourage savings saying that studies have indicated that only 21%  of the population have access to financial services.

"Some were claiming that they have nowhere to save even the little they can save because banks or microfinance institutions were far away from them,” Mugabo added.

He said that for any country to develop economically, it must have investments which are accrued from savings.

He revealed that the 412 sectors have already pooled over Rwf 1.3 billion. One sector has already raised Rwf 40 million while another raised Rwf20 million of shared capital.

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