Sacco renovates DEM boardroom

United Civil Servants Savings and Credit Cooperative (UCSS) on Thursday handed over a renovated boardroom worth K644 000 ($893) to Karonga District Education Manager (DEM) office.

UCSS, whose membership is now at 10 000, is largely made up of teachers from Nkhotakota, Kasungu, Mzimba and Chitipa, among other districts in the Central and Northern regions.

Speaking at the handover ceremony where the Sacco was also launching its merger with Tikwere Community Sacco which Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) denied a licence, UCSS president Fletcher Mhango said the Sacco renovated the boardroom because they were using it for meetings on the merger.

“Karonga DEM allowed us to use the boardroom for our meetings. To show our appreciation, we have renovated the room by painting and furnishing it with new curtains. We have also supplied a new air conditioner,” he said.

In his remarks, Karonga DEM Scotch Kondowe said the air conditioned room is a relief to them because the district experiences very high temperatures in summer.

“I promised my staff that the room will be air-conditioned, but there were no funds to embark on the project,” he said.

Kondowe hailed the Sacco for offering easy access to loans for teachers who find it difficult to access commercial bank loans.

He said: “It is hard for a teacher to access loans from commercial banks, but the Sacco is there to help us.”