KIGALI - Umwalimu Sacco, a teachers’ Credit and Savings Cooperative, is set to buy and distribute laptops to all their members across the country in a programme that is set to begin early next month.

This was revealed yesterday by Jean Marie Vianney Nzacahimana, the board chairman during the cooperative’s General Assembly that was held in Kigali yesterday.

He said that the beneficiaries will receive the laptops on loan terms which they will repay within a period of five years.

Speaking to over 280 members of the Sacco who represented their colleagues, Joseph Museruka, the General Manager of Umwalimu Sacco, said that the scheme currently has about 47,000 members countrywide.
He said that 30,000 of their members have so far been given different types of loans.

"The main objective of this general assembly is to introduce to you the new products we want to unveil today, which includes increasing the loan ceiling from the current Rwf3m to 15 million,” Museruka said.

He also said that the time limit within which the teachers were required to service the loans was increased from two to five years.

Museruka added that they have not attained financial and social viability adding that they still face the problem of insufficient human resources.

He noted that they have managed to open 15 branches countrywide which he said are enough to bring quality services to their members.

However, he noted that they will begin to work with other banks to curb the long distances made by Sacco members to access these branches.

Speaking to The New Times shortly after the meeting, Museruka revealed that last year they made a profit of Rwf116million, adding that they are planning to embark on recruiting more staff for rapid and quality service delivery.

Thomas Damascene Ntawangwanabose, a primary school teacher from the Southern Province said; "I am very pleased by the new products especially the One Laptop per Teacher…it will enable us to efficiently prepare lessons for students and help us in research”.

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