Muscco moves to help members own land, houses
Malawi Union of Savings and Credit Cooperatives (Muscco) and Housing Investment Development Cooperative (Hidco) have signed a partnership that will enable Savings and Credit Cooperatives (Sacco) members nationwide to access land, housing and property.
Speaking in Lilongwe on Wednesday during the signing of the memorandum of understanding (MoU), Muscco chief executive officer (CEO) Fumbani Nyangulu said the partnership is an effective way to build business growth and to ensure sustainable development.
He said among other things, Muscco and Sacco members will be eligible to buy land on cash or loan through Hidco nationwide.
Nyangulu said discussions started two years ago and Saccos unanimously agreed with the idea of establishing a partnership with Hidco.
He said: “As Saccos, we are in the sector of financial services and Hidco are in the sector of housing cooperative. Financial cooperatives provide services to their members and these members have several needs, including housing.
“That is why we are partnering with another housing cooperative institution so that Sacco members are able to access housing services for their members. Everybody wants to have a decent house.”
Hidco CEO Robert Mbedza said all cooperatives around the world have seven key principles and that principle number six talks about cooperation among cooperatives.
He said: “It is natural for Hidco, a housing cooperative, to cooperate with savings and credit cooperatives for the benefit of our members. We are the first housing cooperative in the country and the reason we established a housing cooperative is because housing is a human right.
“Everybody needs a decent house. We thought that by coming together to create a housing cooperative, we are going to support one another so that each one can have a house, houses or properties,” he said.
Mbedza said Hidco has members from all over the world, including South Africa, Sudan, Egypt, Zambia, Zimbabwe, the United Kingdom and the United States.
“We believe that as Malawians, we can invest in properties that are beautiful, big and ensure long-term investment for the members,” he said.
Muscco is the mother body of Saccos in the country and has more than 200 000 members.
