Page 49 - Ramco JO SACCOStar _Vol 50.indd

OPINION
SACCO STAR:
the MODEST
beginnings of a
PUBLICATION
By Hassan Kulundu
Optimists say that when one door shuts, another one
opens—this is indeed true of the SACCO STAR.
By 1999, I was one of the pioneer editors of the SACCO
STAR—engaged both as a sub-editor and staff writer, having
joined the publication the previous year.
Frederick Omondi Okati, my junior in Maseno School in the mid-
80s, was the chief editor, having joined the publication earlier
than myself.
At the time, the publication was more of a ‘feel-good’ in-house
newsletter, mainly capturing and relaying information about
KUSCCO activities at the Nairobi headquarters.
The respected James Bango was the Managing Director of
KUSCCO—then housed at Coffee Plaza, off Haile Selassie
Avenue. Mr Bango was among the few Africans of the time who
were holders of the then prestigious and much-envied degree
of Master of Business Administration (MBA).
The SACCO STAR was under the Education and Training
department headed by Edward Mudibo—a workaholic, smart,
cool and very meticulous administrator.
As an in-house newsletter, the SACCO STAR was a low-key
publication and did not have a circulation to speak of. At that
time, computers sounded like aliens from outer space and
the technology used to produce the newsletter was quite
rudimentary—mobile phones were just coming into the market
and only the likes of James Bango could afford to own and use
one!
In August 1998, a terrorist bomb attack targeting the U.S.
Embassy building in the city shook the country to the core.
The SACCO STAR team of Okati and myself were among the
first people on the scene—it was horrible, but we managed to
collect ourselves to capture the moment and ran a headline
story about the bomb attack from the co-operative movement’s
perspective.
The story, illustrated by full-colour pictures, highlighted that the
co-operative movement was the most affected sector by the
terrorist attack.
Issue 29. DECEMBER 2014 - FEBRUARY 2015
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Apart from the U.S. Embassy building that was the target of the
terrorists, the adjacent Co-operative Bank House and Ufundi Co-
operative House buildings bore the brunt of the bomb attack.
Ufundi House was reduced to rubble by the blast and also had
the highest number of human casualties.
The terror attack story, inadvertently, thrust the SACCO STAR on
the national stage. Free copies were distributed from KUSCCO
headquarters, circulated across the country attracting demand
for the issue. We were forced to go for a re-print of the issue to
satisfy the audience demands.
A different series of events began on Tuesday, April 13, 1999,
during the ministerial statements at the National Assembly.
A Ministerial statement captioned “Increase in minimum savings
and current account balances” was issued by then Finance
Minister, Dr Yekoyada Francis Omoto Masakhalia.
In the debate that ensued, it became clear that the country’s
financial sector was in a crisis, the main commercial banks had
raised their requirements on minimum balance for savings and
current accounts.
In fact, both Standard Chartered and Barclays had raised their
minimum account balance for the savings-account holders from
about Ksh1,500 to Ksh10,000, edging out almost three-quarters
of the Kenyan population out of the banking services.
In a closed-door crisis meeting, President Daniel arap Moi
ordered his cabinet and Ministry of Finance officials to find a
solution—things were getting out of hand as the small savers
and rural folk were being squeezed out of the banking sector.
It was suggested that the co-operative sector be called in
to assist the small saver—Moi liked the idea and ordered his
Minister for Co-operatives to work with Treasury.
SACCO Star Magazine | 47