19 Nov 2019

Thuto Savings and Credit Co-operative Society (SACCOS) held its annual general meeting (AGM) in Gaborone recently.

It touched on issues such as election of board of directors, supervisory and credit committees.

Speaking at the AGM, secretary for development and budget in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, Ms Grace Muzila urged board members to have self-awareness, good listening skills, and empathy because those were traits of servant leadership.

She further said for an individual to be able to lead, they must have a good ear since it was a special way to treat others.

Ms Muzila said Thuto SACCOS membership as evidenced by increased attendance of the meeting had grown compared to 2016.  She implored attendees to network and learn new things from one another.

She said Thuto SACCOS aspired to be a leading SACCOS in Botswana, with economically empowered members by promoting a culture of saving, offering loans and other investment facilities at a competitive market rates for the benefit of members.

“Good governance of the society is a very important aspect which governs relationship between management board, committees, members and stakeholders. In that case Thuto SACCOS should adhere to basic principles of corporate governance which promotes distinction between the roles of the AGM, Board of Directors and management,” she said.

Ms Muzila said another key principle was differentiation of authority and responsibilities between the board and management and was important for Thuto SACCOS Board of Directors to possess integrity, competence and commitment.

She said ICT was an important element for a successful organisation because ICT system provides accurate and timely data needed in today’s connected world.

She said such systems when flexible and functioning properly can help Thuto SACCOS to take advantage of the opportunities in the market and overcome challenges and as such manual systems were to be replaced with computerized systems.

Thuto SACCOS chairperson Mr Charles Keikotlhae said the main objective of financial inclusion was to improve household welfare by increasing economic efficiency and supporting inclusive and sustainable economic growth.

He further said platforms like saccos augur well for enhanced financial inclusion and will contribute significantly to the country’s goals of economic diversification, employment creation and poverty eradication and therefore encourage government to continue facilitating the work of the saccos.

Director for co-operative development, Ms Moipedi Nkoane said despite challenges faced by co-operatives in Botswana, there was a significant growth in the financial sub-sector in Savings and Credit Co-operatives societies which play a greater role on the lives of members. Ends