SASRA draws up stiff rules to deal with Sacco member complaints

The Sacco Societies Regulatory Authority(SASRA) has developed tough guidelines that will require a SACCO to acknowledge receipt of a complaint within three working days and an assurance given that the matter is being dealt with.

Persistent complaints that SACCO members usually have include delays in refund of savings/deposits, loan disbursement, access to member statement and frequent system downtime without notification, denying members access to online platforms.

Other frequent complaints against SACCOs include forgery on signatures of loan guarantors, delayed refund of savings for deceased members to their next of kin, non-payment of dividends to members who have fully or partially exited the SACCO, lack of payment of dividends on housing shares, CRB listing and irregular FOSA Account transactions. SEE RELATED STORY https://co-opnews.com/delayed-refunds-top-complaints-list-by-sacco-members/ 

These SASRA Guidelines require SACCOs to facilitate anonymous reporting and safeguard confidentiality of complainants to encourage open and honest feedback without fear of retaliation or reprisal. SACCOs will maintain an anonymous reporting channel with a dedicated email address, telephone hotline or an online platform.

All personal data gathered by the SACCO during the complaints process is treated with the utmost discretion and sensitivity, adhering to relevant data protection and privacy laws.

The New Guidelines On Complaints Management also require SACCOs to conclude investigations concerning a reported complaint within 14 working days and communicate the outcome within 7 working days after the investigations are completed.

These rules require that this communication must provide a clear explanation of the findings, action taken and the rationale behind the decision taken. The affected SACCO is also required to give explanations for any delayed resolutions and that the complainant should be informed regularly on any new development, changes as well as progress made.

SASRA will take action against SACCOs that fail to comply with these complaints guidelines, including warnings, monetary fines or penalties, suspending certain activities of the SACCO and engaging a third-party consultant.

In extreme cases of violation, the Authority says it will resort to revoking the operating license of the affected SACCO.

SACCOs will be required to maintain an accurate and updated record of all complaints received, investigations undertaken and results. These confidential records should be stored securely to protect the privacy of the complainants. A proper documentation will enable the SACCO to track the effectiveness of its complaints handling process and identify areas of improvement.

SACCOs will provide SASRA with full access to its complaints records, investigation reports any other relevant documentation.

These Guidelines require SACCOs to submit a quarterly monitoring and evaluation report to SASRA every 15^th of the end of a quarter, maintain a member complaints register to be used for receiving and processing complaints.

The SACCO Management and Board must also have a Complaints Root Cause Analysis Template that will list type od causes that led to the complaint such as system failure, inefficient officers, slow response, or policies, procedures and regulations of the organization.

The Guidelines also require the SACCO to submit a Common Source of Complaints Quarterly Report to SASRA every 15^th of the end of a three months’ period.