Gov’t moves to recover Rwf400m from defunct coop

HUYE–The government is seeking to recover over Rwf 400 million lent out to various individuals through the now defunct government-initiated savings and credit associations, Caisses Populaire d’Epargnes et de Credit (CAPEC).CAPECs were introduced in 2002 to help the population, especially those in rural areas, access financial services. They mainly targeted rural women and the youth. Their Union, UCAPEC, operated in some of the poorest parts of the country, among them; Gisagara, Nyanza, Huye, Nyamagabe, Nyaruguru in the Southern Province and Nyamasheke and Ngororero in the West.The government later merged the associations with Umurenge SACCO, the current sector-based savings and credit cooperatives to pool resources for the benefit of the population. The merger was further justified by the poor performance of some CAPECs.Following the merger, an audit into their financial records revealed that over Rwf400 million was lost in the process, according to Alfred Karekezi, the Director General in the Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion, through which the funds were channelled.He told The New Times that a big portion of the money was offered as loans to individuals who never repaid it. However, another fraction of the missing funds were either embezzled or misused, he added.“We are discussing a strategy to make sure we recover the lost funds”, he observed.During a meeting held last Tuesday in Huye District, it was agreed that SACCO managers draw a list of defaulters in order to take legal action against them. The meeting brought together district vice mayors in charge of Economic Affairs, local leaders and SACCO managers in the concerned districts.“We will forward the audit report to all the concerned SACCOs. They will later elaborate the lists [of defaulters] and forward it to the National Bank, the Province and the Rwanda Cooperative Agency.”A committee, headed by the Vice-Mayor in charge of Economic Affairs, will oversee the identification process.The parties concerned are expected to meet again in September to assess the success in recovering the funds.“Recovering the funds will not end in one or two days. It is a process,” Karekezi pointed out.“We have a lawyer who will assist them in case there is need”.Though some defaulters have since gone underground, there is hope that combined efforts would help uncover their whereabouts and bring them to face justice.According to Karekezi, once the money is recovered, it would be used by the SACCOs to support the youth and women’s projects.