Nyeri leaders have warned residents against indulging in gambling, saying it is killing the culture of hard work.
Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga and Newfortis Sacco chairman John Githinji said gambling is addictive and destroys the fibre of the society.
The two, who spoke during Newfortis Sacco annual general meeting at Nyamachaki Primary School on Saturday in which Kahiga was the chief guest, said the cooperative movement can be the remedy to betting.
“In this generation of instant gratification, the cooperative is the panacea for the quick gains mentality,” Kahiga said.
“This (desire for instant gratification) has contributed heavily to the betting culture that is now rampant in our radio stations and on the mobile phones and unfortunately it is attracting even the older folks.”
He said the challenge can be addressed by enticing the young generation to join the Sacco movement and ultimately its leadership.
This, he said, will teach them the culture of saving and the value of slowly building wealth in a sustainable manner.
There is the challenge of the youth wanting to have instant wealth to reach where their parents have reached in a fortnight yet it took the parents a lifetime to get there, he said.
“We remind them that getting rich and wealthy has never been an event but a long laborious process usually a product of hard work,” he said.
“What would you feel if you heard that your chairman was sending Sh100 in order to win Sh100,000?” he said.
The county chief said his administration has provided an excellent environment for the cooperative movement to prosper and ensure their continued growth.
He said cooperatives have experienced rise or fall due to corporate governance, and that his government initiated a capacity-building programme for cooperative leadership to enhance their management and leadership skills.
Since the inception of the programme three years ago, the county has trained more than 900 co-operative leaders and staff.
In this financial year, the county has allocated an extra Sh3 million to train 600 co-operative leaders by June 2022.
Nyeri county has 179 active co-operative societies with a membership of more than 400,000, an asset base of more than Sh19 billion, with an estimated annual turnover of Sh6 billion per year.
“These co-operative societies help their members pool resources together for shared prosperity. This means that 40 per cent of our population is enrolled in one cooperative or another,” he said.
Newfortis Sacco chairman John Githinji said the county government programme has supported all the board of directors to learn and get free consultancy on financial management which has added value and their capacity.
Githinji said the Sacco will be pumping Sh740 million in dividends and interest into the economy this year.
“During the year Sh740, 803, 223 will be paid out as dividend and interest compared to Sh 662, 885, 132 paid out in the year 2020 recording an increase.”
Since its inception, he said, the Sacco has been able to give out Sh37.6 billion in loans while in 2021 alone, it has given more than Sh1 billion.
He called on residents to join the Sacco, save and borrow money for self empowerment, adding that it has liquidity but people have been reluctant to borrow since the outbreak of Covid-19 in 2020.
Githinji said people should adjust and learn to live with the disease, borrow and continue to build themselves economically.
(edited by Amol Awuor)
