FACTORS IMPACTING ON THE PERFORMANCE OF SAVINGS AND CREDIT COOPERATIVES: A CASE OF AFYA SACCO SOCIETY LIMITED

Abstract

Afya SACCO has overtime achieved very high growth rates both in terms of membership and in the deposits. The cooperative has undertaken major investments in non-core fixed assets mainly land and buildings (the real estate). It has also gone through turbulent times in terms of the management. At one time the Commissioner for Cooperatives had to intervene and appoint a Management commission to run the affairs of the cooperative. Losses by the time of appointing the commission had become too big with even cases of fraud and loss of cheques being experienced. Despite all this growth the cooperative has not been able to serve its members satisfactorily. Cases of a member applying for an emergency loan and having to wait for months were at one time the norm rather than the exception. Dividends have also been very low for much of the cooperative’s life. There is need to establish the factors affecting the growth of cooperatives. This study sought to find out the factors affecting the performance of cooperatives in Kenya