INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND
Governance is the process by which a board of directors, through management, guides an institution in fulfilling its corporate mission and protects the intuitions assets over time. (principles and practices of microfinance governance, by Rachel Rock Maria Otero Sonia Saltzman). However, the success of and strength of a financial cooperative in some parts of the world shows that governance issues can be transcendence when basic principles are followed. Therefore is corporate governance the cause of all troubles in Saccos?
Governance is a system designed to control and distribute power within an organization for economic, corporation and development (OCED). Corporate governance involves a set of relationships between a company management, its board, shareholders and other stakeholders. Corporate governance also provides the structure through which the objectives of the company and means of attaining those objectives and monitoring performance are determined.
Saccos were first introduced in Kenya in 1964. In 1969 the government made a radical relationship which has been the rapid growth of Saccos in Kenya. Today there are estimated 2600 active Sacco’s societies in Kenya which together have been able to mobilize Kenya shillings. In Kenya the ministry of cooperative development and marketing oversees Saccos activities but this moves to the Saccos Regulatory Authority (SRA) established by the new law. Currently Saccos are newly monitored. There is no annual or frequent examination of Saccos by the regulatory body. Moreover there is no comprehensive set of standards by which Saccos should comply. It is hoped that the new Sacco regulation will establish prudential standards to govern.
The standards will establish benchmarks and also enforce safe and sound principles to safe guard Saccos from losses. As financial institutions Saccos should be accountable to their members and to the public by enhancing excellence through
References: Amess, K and Howcroft, B (2002) “Corporate Governance Structures and the Comparative Advantage of Credit Unions” Corporate governance Vol. 9 No. 1 2001 59-65. Bakikoa, B., Errasti, A., and Begiristain, A (2004) “Governance of the Mondragon Corporacion Cooperativa” Annals of public and Comparative Economics 75: 1 61-87. CGAP (2005) Working with Savings and Credit Cooperatives Donor Brief 25 Washington: World Bank. Claessens, S (2003) Corporate Governance and Development Global Corporate Governance Forum Focus 1 Washington: World Bank. Co-operative Commission (2001) Report, the Co-operative Advantage London. Co-operatives UK (2004) Participation in Governance, case study examples. Co-operatives UK (2005 a) Report of the Corporate Governance Review group. Cornforth. C (2002) “Making sense of co-operative governance: competing models and tensions” Review of International Co-operation 95 1 51-57. Cuevas, C and Fischer, K (2006) Cooperative Financial Institutions: Issues in Governance, Regulation and Supervision, World Bank Working Paper No. 82. Davis, K (2001) “Credit Union Governance and Survival of the Cooperative Form” Journal of Financial Services Research 19:2/3 197-210. Dow, G (2003) Governing the Firm- workers’ control in theory and practice Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Gale, F & Collender, R (2006) New Directions in China’s Agricultural Lending. Hansmann, H (1996) The Ownership of Enterprise Havard; Havard University Press. Henry, H (2005) Guidelines for Cooperative Legislation (2nd edition) Geneva: ILO. Hu, Y. Huang, Z. Hendrikse, G. and Xu, X (2005) Organization and Strategy for Farmer Specialized Cooperatives in China Erasmus Research Institite of Management Report Series ERS-2005-059-ORG, http://hdl.handle.net/1765/6995 9th June 2006.