NAIROBI, Kenya -
According to the World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) and the Canadian Co-operative Association (CCA), which hosted the event, the workshop "brought together for the first time senior officials from ministries of finance, central banks, ministries of cooperatives and the savings and credit co-operative (SACCO or credit union) industry in Africa to discuss pressing issues.
Representatives from Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, South Africa and Uganda, who regulate a total of 7,000 SACCOs with 5.3 million members and US$2.4 billion in assets, attended the meeting. Among the topics of discussion were key differences in legislation between microfinance institutions and SACCOs, access to clearing and settlement systems, transparency in reporting, strategies for supervising large numbers of small SACCOs, prudential and operational standards for SACCOs and service to non-members.
"The workshop was an eye-opener and tremendous learning experience for the participants, as it provided regulators a platform to appreciate the intricacies and challenges of supervising SACCOs," said Noel Mkulichi, director of non-bank supervision at the Reserve Bank of Malawi.
As part of the meeting, the World Council distributed and discussed the "Model Regulations for Credit Unions," a guide for policymakers, regulators and others who implement or revise credit union regulations. WOCCU staff, credit union supervisors and WOCCU's Legislative and Regulatory Committee jointly prepared the guide as a companion piece to the "Model Law for Credit Unions."
"Since the Model Law for Credit Unions was first developed 15 years ago it has been used by dozens of countries to help modify credit union legislation," indicated Dave Grace, vice president of association services, WOCCU. "In an integrated way, the Model Regulations for Credit Unions will help policymakers and credit unions with the next step of reforms."
Participants also reviewed new SACCO bills being introduced in Kenya, Malawi and South Africa. The South African Parliament held a hearing to discuss the bill, which, if passed, will be the first SACCO-specific law in English-speaking Africa.
Representatives from the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor, International Cooperative Alliance and the NCUA also participated in the meeting, with Vice Chair Rodney Hood and Policy Adviser Carlton Hoskins representing the agency.
FOR MORE DETAILS
A summary of the guide is available at www.woccu.org/best-practices/bp-files/1188591234.pdf.
