Insurers’ credit union makes waves despite teething challenges

The credit union of the insurers has made some progress and registered achievement within one year of its establishment despite facing some difficulties in the beginning. 

The Insurance Association of The Gambia Cooperative Credit Union (IAGCCU) on Friday held its maiden annual general meeting (AGM) at the Laico Atlantic Hotel in Banjul where the executive of the union disclosed to the members the modest achievements made by the union in the face of adversities.

The executive members of the association said they found it difficult initially to have the confidence of the insurers to be members of the credit union.

Lamin Yarboe, chairman of the executive committee of the credit union, said that at the beginning, they found it very difficult even to have working capital for the credit union. 

“We approached all the companies in the industry but none of them was willing to give us the needed money,” he said. 

He noted that the one-year journey was not very smooth but by dint of hard work, dedication and determination to succeed, coupled with the support of the members of the credit union, they were able to make it.

Mr Yarboe thanked Henry Jawo, secretary general of the Insurance Association of The Gambia (IAG), for his support, words of courage and wisdom during the difficult times of the credit union.

“When we started the credit union, we did not have a penny but thank God today we are giving loans, which is a testimony of how far we have gone,”  said Raymond Ceesay, vice chairman of the credit union.

The treasurer of the credit union, Sirrah Jammeh, said the total savings of the union for the year under review is D220,200. 

She said the credit union has started giving loans and gave D81,400 in 2012, and from January to 15 February 2013 it has disbursed more than D90,000 as loan.

The byelaws of the IAGCCU state that members are only entitled to loans or withdrawals after six months of regular savings, and the loans of the credit union attract an interest rate of 1.25% per month.  All the loans given by the credit union as of now are on short- and medium-term basis.

Gambia's Airport Credit Union: Loans Outweigh Savings

The Banjul International Airport Co-operative Credit Union (BIACCU) gave more to members as loan than it received as savings in 2011.

The 1033 members of the BIACCU saved eleven million two-hundred and fifty thousand nine hundred and fifty dalasis (D11,250,950) in 2011 and the union disbursed eleven million five hundred and sixteen thousand one hundred and ninety-one (D11,516,191) to members as loan during the year under review. 

However, the treasurer of the Union said, with pride, that only a little number of the members that did not benefit from its loan scheme.

At the 9^th Annual General Meeting of the BIACCU held on 17 May at the Airport, Edrissa Gassama, treasurer of the union, said that in 2011 members’ savings did increase from D9,483,722 in 2010 to D11,250,950 in 2011. 

“This represents an increase of 19% in relative terms in 2011, which indeed is a large sum of money saved by members, and it shows members awareness and commitment to saving,” he said.

With regard to loans, Mr Gassama said the credit union had satisfactorily disbursed loan to applicants on the basis of first come first serve.  The loan given in 2011 represented an increment of 19% from D9,639,303 in 2010 to D11,516,191 in 2011.  “This is a big achievement for all of us,” he added. 

With the high interest rates charged by banks in the country, members of credit unions are now resorting to loans from their unions than going to the banks to take loan with its rigorous requirements for collateral coupled with the prohibited interest rate.