Meru’s Solution Sacco celebrates 30 years of empowering members

Meru, Saturday, July 1, 2023

KNA by Dickson Mwiti

It was pomp and colour on Friday as one of the oldest Saccos in Meru County, Solution Sacco, celebrated 30 years of existence where stories of success were enumerated by various speakers led by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Daniel Marete.

The event which attracted at least 20,000 people was held at Kinoru stadium and presided over by Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua who was accompanied by the Cooperatives and MSMEs Cabinet Secretary Simon Chelugui and his Agriculture and Livestock development counterpart Mithika Linturi among other leaders.

In his speech, Mr Chelugui lauded the management of the Sacco adding that the government was committed to supporting the institutions since they were the way of life for majority of Kenyans.

He added that Meru County was one of the leading regions in terms of people who are enrolled in different Saccos and cooperative Societies and this, he added, was one of the ways that will lead to the development of the region and the country at large.

“The number of Kenyans who have enrolled in various Saccos at the moment stands at 14million and this makes us the best in Africa and position seven in the entire world,” said Mr Chelugui.

He added that his ministry was committed to supporting all the Saccos and cooperative societies in the country as these were the routes to economic development of the country.

“We cannot in any way ignore the contribution of Saccos in this country considering that they contribute 10 percent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country. 

We have about 23,000 saccos and cooperative societies in the country which contributed Sh600billion to the economy in 2022,” said Chelugui.

According to Mr Marete, the Sacco which was initially formed by teachers drawn from the older Meru region which include Meru and Tharaka Nithi Counties has now extended its territories to eight more counties and boasts of a membership of about 30,000 people.

“In the quest of serving the people we have and will continue reaching out to other counties. At the moment we have a staff of about 250 and this will continue increasing as we continue expanding,” said Mr Marete.

The Sacco has also excelled in terms of acquiring property which include parcels of land to its members which they later pay at affordable rates.

At the moment, Marete added, Solution Sacco has an asset base of Sh8.3billion and a loan book of Sh7billion.

Courtesy ; K. N. A