Members of the six-month old Chitsanzo Village Savings and Loans Bank in December shared K1.2 million in dividends with the highest getting K100 000 and the lowest taking home K8 000.
The group’s coordinator, Davies Khamisi, in an interview, said they decided to come up with village savings and loans bank after seeing how people have been hit economically in the area.
“We are living in Ndirande at Chakana Village where we have business and non business women and when we mobilised ourselves we agreed to start the village banking and in six months we have managed to save K1.2 million,” he said.
Khamisi said the group managed to raise such an amount because of their common understanding.
He said they were saving the money through buying of shares, late comers’ fines, among others.
Chairperson of the group, Martha Chisati, said they are planning to have either a house or maize mill for raising funds for the group as assets.
“We are hopeful that we will make it because we are an interdenominational group and we put God first and the same will help us to achieve our goals in 2013,” she said.
Discipline chairperson Ireen Nyanga Nyanga said one of the secrets is that the group allows non-members to borrow money at an interest rate of 30 percent while members pay 20 percent.
“Those who take a K10 000 loan are asked to pay once, but those taking more than this are asked to pay in instalments. Our group is comprised of widows, business and non-business members.
“We are encouraging other members to form such groups and, as at now, we have three groups that have been formed through ours,” said Nyanga.
