Saturday, January 18, 2014

Set aside funds for study on Saccos, contribution to economy, govt urged


Both the government and private sector have been advised to set aside money for the carrying out of a research to identify the exact percentage of contribution of savings and credit cooperatives societies (Saccos) in to the GDP.


Speaking in Dar es Salaam recently, a senior research fellow, Dr Jabir Kikuli, said so far, there is no research done to perceive the contribution of Saccos to the economy as is the case in other sectors.

“The government and non-governmental organisations should set aside enough money that would be spent in conducting researches countrywide and come up with clear results on this crucial sector,” Kikuli said.

He said they are ready to conduct the research upon the availability of funds resources from government or other sources.

According to the Executive Secretary of Savings and Credit Cooperatives Union League of Tanzania (Scult), Habib Mhezi, despite the fact that Saccos play a significant role in the society, the contribution of the sub sector to the economy is still not known.

Up to the moment, a total of 530bn/- is circulating in the economy in terms of savings, shares and deposits, he said, adding that it is very difficult to estimate how much of this money belonging to members of Saccos contribute in the GDP.

Explaining further he said that despite the fact that it Tanzania has all infrastructures including universities, she has done little in developing the cooperative industry.

Citing examples, he said the contribution of Saccos to Kenya’s GDP now stands at 10 percent which is a good percentage for the East African leading economy.

When asked to explain what should be done in order to improve the industry, he said, there must be political will to enable the industry to advance.

“Our politicians must speak the same language about the importance of cooperatives and on how to improve its performance, otherwise nothing can be done, “he said. 
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN

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