The Community Savings Investment Promotion (Comsip) is expected to train 32 cooperatives countrywide to instill in communities a culture of saving and giving loans without depending on lending organisations.
Comsip projects manager John Mulangeni said, so far, Mchinji, Kasungu, Dedza, Mzuzu, Lilongwe and Karonga are some of the target districts.
“We are training members of Comsip cooperatives on capacity building, financial literacy, financial management, business management and environment conservation to help rural communities manage their finances they raise through their own contribution,” he said at the close of a four-day training for Ngodi Cooperative in Mchinji.
Mulangeni said most of the cooperatives have money, but fail to manage their finances due to different trainings they undergo that different organisations offer.
He said the other reason cooperatives fail to manage their finances is because they give loans to non-members who fail to repay in time.
But with the trainings, he said members of the cooperatives, especially women would be empowered economically, adding that would help to reduce poverty levels in the country.
“If the country adopts Comsip programmes, I am sure by the end of three years, the country’s poverty levels will be reduced. Countries that adopted the system of saving and giving loans way back have a high economic status,” said Mulangeni.
Mchinji district community development officer Joyce Mtukuso said members of cooperatives have benefited a lot from saving and giving loans to each other and that most are able to pay school fees for their children, buy fertilizer and food for their families.
Mchinji has 375 Comsip cooperatives with a total of 3 753 members.
Chairperson of the Ngodi Cooperative Redson Eliya said the training would help the members manage their shares and start a business of buying agricultural produce and a lorry to help in transporting the produce.
