Trans National Times (TNT) Sacco Society Ltd was registered in 1977 as Trans Nzoia Teachers Sacco, with an initial membership of 200 teachers. Over the times, the Sacco has steadily grown its membership to the current 12,709.
Submitted 6 years 7 months ago by admin.
Trans National Times (TNT) Sacco Society Ltd was registered in 1977 as Trans Nzoia Teachers Sacco, with an initial membership of 200 teachers. Over the times, the Sacco has steadily grown its membership to the current 12,709.
In October 2010, the TNT Sacco was first licensed by the Sacco Societies Regulatory Authority (SASRA) to accept deposits from the general public through its FOSA (Front Office Savings Activity). Currently, the Sacco has three FOSA branches located in Kitale town at Teachers Plaza, Endebess centre, and Kachibora centre. A new branch is planned for Kiminini centre during the year.
In June 2012, the Sacco changed its name from the former Trans Nzoia Teachers Sacco to the new Trans National Times Sacco to reflect its expanded client base and national outlook. This is in line with its corporate strategy of opening up membership to non-teachers to join the Sacco and patronise its services.
Apart from the core teaching fraternity, the Sacco currently serves civil servants, officers of the disciplined forces, school support staff, private school teachers, state corporation employees, business people, women groups, youth groups, and farmers. Civil servants in the Ministry of health, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs, Department of Defence, Office of the President, Administration Police, are now on board.
The process of joining the Sacco has been simplified through arrangements with the respective parent ministries that have agreed to deduct and remit shares on behalf of their employees, and also to channel their salaries through the Sacco’s FOSA for those who have accounts there. Membership application forms are issued at the Sacco offices and can also be downloaded from its website. One requires only a copy of the latest payslip and national identity card to get registered with the Sacco.
Civil servants and disciplined officers who get transferred to other stations in the country need not worry since they can still access their accounts through the use of the Sacco-link ATM card and the Sacco mobile banking service To access the TNT Sacco mobile banking service, a member simply dials the USSD Code *477#. The Sacco paybill number 533888 enables members to conveniently make cash deposits.
The Sacco also caters for persons who have retired from employment by giving them an opportunity to continue saving into their twilight years. The Wiseman account for pensioners is equally designed to enable the retirees to access credit facilities from the Sacco just like the other members who are still in active employment. TNT Sacco’s Micro Credit Unit (MCU) is a community empowerment programme targeting micro-enterprises with the aim of enabling beneficiaries to alleviate poverty by boosting their incomes. The target clients in this area include self-employed entrepreneurs such as kiosk owners, groceries, boda-boda riders, traders in mitumba, hair salons, barber shops and so on.
The Sacco engages with these markets through two models: the group model, and the individual model. Target groups include the women groups, self-help groups, youth groups, and community based organisations (CBOs). In the group model, a duly registered (with the Department of Gender and Social Services) group will be admitted into the MCU programme and members of the group enabled to open individual accounts, under the umbrella of the group, to facilitate their savings and credit. Under this programme, the women can also benefit from the Women Enterprise Fund loans for which the Sacco is an appointed intermediary in the North Rift and Western regions.
The Sacco managed to successfully disburse and revolve Ksh8 million received from Women Enterprise Fund in 2010, to women groups in Trans Nzoia County, North Rift and Western regions. The TNT Sacco savings account is for entrepreneurs who prefer to engage with the Sacco individually as opposed to groups. These business persons can access business loans from the Sacco to enable them expand their businesses.
Coffee farmers who open accounts with Trans National Times Sacco are able to obtain cheap financing towards coffee improvement from the Coffee Development Fund. In 2008 the Sacco, in partnership with the Coffee Development Fund (now Commodities Fund), disbursed over Ksh40 million to coffee farmers in Trans Nzoia County, West Pokot, Bungoma and Lugari.
Beneficiaries of this fund include both estate farmers and coffee co-operative society members. The coffee establishment loan is for farmers intending to start coffee farming. The coffee rehabilitation loan is for those who want to revive existing coffee trees. The advance and extended advance is for farmers who wish to boost their yields. The coffee processing loan is for coffee cooperative societies and estates in need of equipment, such as pulping machines. The coffee machinery loan is for societies and estates to sink boreholes, set up irrigation, buy transport vehicles.
While most of the Sacco’s members can be found in Trans Nzoia County, the services extend to neighbouring counties of Bungoma, Uasin Gishu, Kakamega, West Pokot and Turkana. The Sacco has kept abreast of modern technology through provision of ATM services, which members can access through the Sacco-link debit card that is acceptable countrywide and can also be used at various shopping outlets, restaurants and petrol stations. The Sacco-link card also enables members to access the SACCO services conveniently through ‘Co-op Kwa Jirani’ points of sale. TNT Sacco members can access their accounts through Mobile Banking facility that enables them to among other menus, query their balances, get mini-statements, make withdrawals, deposit cash, repay their loans, pay bills and buy air-time. Hence, members are able to transact from the comfort of their homes and places of work 24 hours a day, seven days a week nationally and abroad.
The Trans National Times Sacco managed to disburse a total of Ksh3.2 billion in loans from 2014 to June 2019. Of this total Ksh1.4 billion went to education, Ksh1.4 billion to housing and construction, Ksh127 million to welfare, Ksh90 million to health, Ksh77 million to agriculture, Ksh38 million to SMEs, and Ksh2 million to telecommunication. The Sacco provides pay-point services to employees of various institutions, both in the public and private sector. Between July 2018 and June 2019, the Sacco processed salary amounting to Ksh499 million from various employers. This included Ksh354 million from the national government, Ksh40 million from the county government, Ksh45 million from public and private schools, and Ksh60 million from Pensions department.