THE Public Service Union of Namibia (PSUN) on Friday launched a credit co-operative to extend financing and financial education to its members.
According to PSUN President ///Hoëseb, the PSUN Credo Co-operative was established in response to members’ demands ‘for a soft-loan scheme to weather the storms of financial doldrums.’
The PSUN Credo Co-operative is open to all PSUN members upon payment of a monthly fee.
‘After having saved for a predetermined period, members of the Credo Co-operative will be able to withdraw fixed amounts of money from the Credo Co-operative,’ said //Hoëseb.
He assured members that the interest charged on these soft loans will be ‘at a much lower rate than offered even at well-established financial institutions,’ and drew a clear line differentiating the co-operative from a loan shark.
‘The difference between the Credo Co-operative and any given loan shark is that a PSUN member who would be a member of the Credo Co-operative will withdraw money from his or her accumulated savings over a given period.’
In addition to providing loans to members, //Hoëseb says the PSUN Credo Co-operative will also educate members on the principles of sound financial management.
‘Credo Co-operative will run seminars and workshops where its members will be educated on ways in which they can avoid falling into debt traps that may lead to them losing their properties such as houses,’ //Hoëseb said.
The PSUN President also said that the Credo Co-operative ‘will be run strictly on prudent financial ethics’.
He said both the staff members and the Board of Trustees appointed to administer the Co-operative’s funds ‘will be persons that possess sound business acumen and gumption, so as to ensure that the money is utilised for the intended purpose only – and that is to raise the financial status of the fund’s members.’
nangula@namibian.com.na
