High levels of delinquency have seen Blantyre-based Polymed Sacco writing off K28.9 million in bad debts, the institution said.
Speaking during the Sacco’s annual general meeting held in the commercial capital, Polymed Sacco chairman, Mavuto Chiwoza, said the bad debts, some dating as far back as 2012, have been having a negative effect on the Sacco’s balance sheet.
He said the Sacco’s board decided to take the bad debts out of its books as one way of ensuring that the institution maintains a healthy balance sheet.
“We had serious challenges in record keeping and credit management. In addition, between 2012 and 2016, we had some members losing jobs and, therefore, unable to honour their loan obligations,” Chiwoza said.
During 2016, the Sacco saw its profitability facing a huge knock from K40.55 million in 2015 to K4.79 million.
The Sacco bought a K46 million house using borrowed resources which it has since turned into its head office.
The chairman said the Sacco also used a considerable amount of resources to rehabilitate the house so that it meets the requirements of the Reserve Bank of Malawi.
Looking ahead, Chiwoza said the future of the Sacco looks bright following the writing off of the bad debts.
He said the institution has adopted modern ways of record management and credit management to avoid a repeat of the situation.
Malawi Polytechnic Registrar, Moses Mwenye, who was guest of honour during the AGM, hailed Polymed Sacco for the acquisition of the new offices.
Mwenye said the purchase of new offices demonstrates the seriousness the board has towards the growth and development of the Sacco.
He urged the Sacco to focus its efforts towards growing the institution’s membership base.
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