Ministry starts paying Sacco remittances
The Ministry of Education has started paying the K1.2 billion it owes lending institutions, including savings and credit cooperatives (Saccos).
The loan was accrued after the ministry failed to remit money deducted from teachers’ loan reimbursements.
The development led to teachers failing to access loans for the past year.
Ministry of Education Principal Secretary Macphail Magwira on Monday told the Public Accounts Committee that the ministry will remit K965 million of the amount it owes the institutions from the 2012/13 financial year and first quarter of the 2013/2014 fiscal year.
“Altogether, we [will pay] K965 million. Out of the 2013 payments, there [will only be] K45 million outstanding because the Central West Division submitted K6 million remittances late while Shire Highlands Division has not submitted its deductions amounting to K38 million,” he said.
Magwira attributed the delay of payments to shortage of computers in the ministry which employs 75 000 and has 142 cost centres.
But representatives of the lending institutions disputed the figures, saying the ministry will still owe them close to K900 million.
Malawi Union of Savings and Credit Cooperatives claims the ministry still owes the institution K200 million while Select Financial Services is demanding K200 million from the current financial year and K76 million from the 2012/13 fiscal year.
But director of finance in the Ministry of Education, Ken Nsandu, said cheques amounting to K965 million were being prepared and would be paid out by next week.
“We’ve had discussions with Treasury and they have told us they won’t be able to fund us until January 2014,” he said.
