Govt’s failure to pay contractors affecting WACCU finances

The Wa Community Co-operative Credit Union (WACCU) says government’s failure to pay contractors for work performed was affecting loaners who owed the organisation.

The WACCU said loaners in general business, especially building materials dealers; food sellers and petty traders who owed it were unable to fulfill repayment obligations.

“It is that these contractors equally owed members of the organisation”, Mr. Moses N. Donneyong, Board Chairman of the WACCU said at an annual general meeting of the Union in Wa.

He said farmers’ loaners also complained of poor season due to bad weather conditions during the last farming season while several members were also duped by some self-styled investment organisations, which eroded off their business capital and personal savings.

The WACCU call on the members at last year’s general meeting to avoid such irregular and unconventional investment in financial institutions with doubtful standing had not been heeded to by members, and that had affected financial performance of the facility.

The Board Chairman explained that as loan income failed to flow in as expected, the Union had to implement a very tight expenditure management regime that saw cutting off a lot of the less significant plans contained in the budget approved last year.

Total expenditure was 1,500,000 Ghana cedi, which represented a 45 percent below the budget and expenditure in the fiscal year, 2015 fell below the previous year figure by 21 per cent due to effective cost management, the WACCU explained.

The WACCU however said despite the challenges in terms of stiff competition and economic slackening, the Union performed creditably well during the financial year under review with net surplus increased from 87,000 Ghana cedi in the fiscal year (2014) to a 205,000 Ghana cedi, recording an increase of 136 per cent.

It however failed to achieve its budgeted surplus level of 295,000 Ghana cedi for the same year as revised.

The organisation was pursuing some recalcitrant members in the courts to recover overdue loans while more loaners would be arraigned before the courts soon after the general annual meeting.

Mr. Donneyong said total asset size of the Union registered a mean growth rate of 12 per cent during the year from 8,600,000 Ghana cedi as at June 2014 to 9,600,000 Ghana cedi at the end of this year.

Growth was slower than expected due to huge withdrawals by members to invest elsewhere while loans were not paid according to plan, the Board Chairman pointed out.