'Take A Loan And Say No To Withdrawal'

‘Take a loan and say no to withdrawal’ was the theme for this year’s Catholic Education Secretariat Credit Union ‘s (CESCU’s) 10th Annual General Meeting (AGM)  held on Monday, 14 April 2012 at the Saint Peters Lower Basic School Hall in Lamin.

The AGM enabled the board to share with members and other Stockholders a record of activities and salient information on  membership, financial  activities, savings, loans, constraints, and pronounced a way forward with great hope and determination.  

In her report, the Chairperson, Board of Directors, Mrs. Zono Jammeh, who is also the Principal of Saint Therese’s Upper Basic School, said savings is the  sure base upon which credit unions thrive; and the assurance of the survival of any credit union is pinned on healthy savings of its membership. 

Because the primary objective of establishing a credit union is to mobilise savings from members, she remarked.  Membership savings, according to her, as at 2010 stood at D8.4m compared to D10.7m in  December 2011 representing an increment of 27%. 

The idea of withdrawal, Madam Jammeh told her audience,  is becoming a major deficiency for the proper management of the union.  

This, she noted, is so because the more the withdrawals the thinner the financial base, and this  would  affect the members ability to access resources to develop themselves.  

 Chairperson Jammeh said there was a rise in withdrawals from savings which is  D1.9m in 2010 compared to D2.5m in 2012  indicating an alarming rate of 29% in 2011 compared to 3% in 2010.  

She told the  AGM that  the reception of loans must be punctuated by proper planning, that there must be a set goals, and “you have money towards that and work with time to achieve the set goals”.  

When monies are received they must be either invested or spent wisely on intended goals, she charged.

 In order to access the desired amount of loan, members were urged to save healthily to enhance their capability to collect loans and execute intended projects.  

Mrs. Marie A A Kujabi, the Treasurer of CESCU cum- Deputy Head Mistress at Saint Therese’s Lower Basic School - Kanifing, in her report said the  non-current assets have reduced from D442,000 to D266,000 representing a reduction rate of 40%. 

This, she explained, was as a result of other non-current assets which were written off for the period and depreciation of non-current assets during the year.  

 However, the total asset base of the union is said to have  increased from D10m to D12m, representing a growth rate of 22%.  

Kujabi dislosed that the statutory reserve fund now stood at D320,789 compared to D452,872 in year 2010. This represents a reduction rate of 29% which came as a result of the write-offs  during the period- which should have been done during the previous years.  

According to her, the income of CESCU for the period amounted to D1,034,189 compared to D1,061,173, “which indicates a reduction in our income earning capacity, representing 2% for the year”.

The total expenditure for the year ended 31st December 2011 rose from D992,000 the previous year to D1m this year after the payment of interest on members’ savings, indicating an increment of 7% from the previous year. 

This, according to her,  was due to the Board’s decision to employ the Staff on permanent basis rather than on contract basis, and also the increment on loan loss provision for the period.