Sasra boss John Mwaka confirmed for four-year term

Industrialisation secretary Adan Mohamed has confirmed Sacco Societies Regulatory Authority boss John Mwaka for a four-year term.

Mr Mwaka has been acting CEO of Sasra since mid-2015, following the retirement of Carilus Ademba who was the founding boss of the regulator of deposit-taking saccos.

“The Cabinet Secretary for Industry, Trade and Co-operatives appoints John Mutua Mwaka to be the CEO of SASRA, for a period of four years, with effect from the May 1, 2017,” the minister said in a gazette notice dated May 22, 2017.

The appointment comes despite the looming merger of all non-banking sector regulators under the proposed Financial Services Authority.

Sasra, the Capital Markets Authority, the Insurance Regulatory Authority and the Retirement Benefits Authority are due to be merged under a proposed Bill currently in the National Assembly. Some officials have, however, said Sasra will be excluded.

Mr Mwaka will now focus on ongoing reforms at the regulator meant to fully integrate credit unions into Kenya’s payments system.

Sasra has already hired an American consultant to guide in the setting up of a centralised lending facility for credit unions, akin to the interbank market.

Madison-based Dave Grace & Associates is guiding Sasra to develop a platform to help Saccos borrow from each other and meet short-term obligations.

The regulator is also seeking a fresh consultant to jump-start plans to set up a deposit insurance scheme for deposits held in saccos.

The financial safety net will provide protection to sacco deposits of up to Sh100,000 per member, and the advisor is expected to guide on the legal and regulatory framework for the scheme dubbed deposit guarantee fund.