MOYO, March 16, 2026 — The Moyo District Local Government Staff SACCO has registered steady growth in membership, savings, and its loan portfolio despite a challenging economic environment in 2025.
Addressing members during the SACCO’s Annual General Meeting held on March 14, 2026, the Board Chairperson, George Ereku Mbaya, said the institution remained resilient even as households faced rising living costs, erratic weather, and economic uncertainty.
“Despite these challenges, MDLGS SACCO remained resilient, focused, and committed to its vision and strategic objectives,” Ereku said.
According to the report presented at the meeting, membership grew significantly during the year under review. The SACCO registered 620 new members in 2025, bringing the cumulative membership to 4,055 by December 31, 2025. The growth represents a 22 percent increase, surpassing the internationally recommended 15 percent growth benchmark.
“This growth rate reflects the confidence members and the general public have in MDLGS SACCO, I want to urge members to continue promoting the SACCO within your communities,” Ereku said.
Savings and share capital also showed strong performance during the period. The SACCO’s total share capital increased from Shs 494.9 million in 2024 to Shs 561.6 million by the end of 2025. Members purchased shares worth Shs 66.6 million during the year, demonstrating growing confidence in the cooperative financial institution.
“Members’ commitment to purchasing more shares remained strong, underscoring the importance of share capital as the foundation of our SACCO. Lett me encourage members to maintain a culture of consistent investment,” Ereku noted.
The SACCO also expanded its credit services to members. In 2025, loans worth Shs 2.02 billion were disbursed to members. By the end of the year, the total loan portfolio had grown to Shs 18.04 billion, up from Shs 16.02 billion recorded in 2024, representing a 13 percent increase.
“The growth demonstrates continued demand for our credit facilities, and members are encouraged to continue patronising our diversified loan products designed to meet their financial needs,” the Chairperson said.
Financially, the SACCO recorded a surplus of Shs 178.1 million before tax and Shs 118.5 million after tax in 2025, almost doubling the Shs 59 million surplus registered the previous year. Total assets also grew by 5.1 percent to Shs 4.79 billion.
However, the Board acknowledged several operational challenges, including non-performing loans and low adoption of digital services introduced by the SACCO.
“There were numerous non-performing loans with clients that held much of our cash during the period under review,” the chairperson explained, adding that members had also been slow to adopt the SACCO’s newly introduced digital platform.
To improve efficiency and strengthen governance, the SACCO has adopted the theme “Empowered SACCO Members for Effective and Efficient Governance.”
“Members’ empowerment remains the cornerstone of our governance, service delivery and long-term sustainability,” the Chairperson said.
The SACCO leadership remains optimistic that continued member participation, improved loan recovery, and increased savings will further strengthen the institution’s financial stability in the coming years.
Richard Akomi Adiradira, the Commissioner for SACCOs in the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives [MTIC], called for increased training of SACCO members on financial literacy so that they can fully benefit from their savings and investments.
“There is a need to train members on financial literacy so that they understand how to benefit from their SACCO,” he said. “People should be encouraged to buy shares in the SACCO instead of relying only on savings, and the newly elected board executive should take this matter seriously.”
Adiradira also called for urgent action to address the growing presence of unregulated money lenders operating in the district.
He urged the District Commercial Office and the district council to intervene and empower communities to avoid borrowing from lenders whose operations and identities remain unclear.
“There is a need for urgent intervention by the District Commercial Office regarding money lenders operating in the district. The council should help empower the community to stop relying on lenders whose whereabouts are unknown,” he added.
Meanwhile, Julian Ssekamuwa, the Moyo District Deputy Resident District Commissioner, commended the management and staff of the Moyo District Local Government Staff SACCO for their efforts in supporting members’ financial growth.
“The management and staff of the SACCO are doing a very big job for their members,” he said. “Government cannot do everything at once. When the SACCO grows, we expect members to also improve financially by mobilising more people to save.”
Ssekamuwa said SACCOs play an important role in advancing the government’s agenda of economic empowerment among citizens.
He encouraged members to invest more in the SACCO by increasing their capital through the available loan products that support government development initiatives.
“We are looking at economic empowerment of citizens in this country, and I encourage you to invest more by increasing the SACCO’s capital based on the available loan products,” he said.
Scovin Iceta, a former journalist who now works with Moyo District Local Government, praised the SACCO for moving in the right direction, noting that he is among those who have benefited from its services.
“In 2022, I took a loan of Shs 2 million from the SACCO to pursue further studies,” he said. “I have since completed my studies, and I am now employed by the district.”
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