CAK Assures Kenyans SACCO Savings Are Safe from Proposed Infrastructure Fund

By Our Reporter Maurice Momanyi.

The Cooperative Alliance of Kenya (CAK) has dismissed claims that the government plans to use members’ savings held in Savings and Credit Cooperative Organisations (SACCOs) to finance the proposed National Infrastructure Fund and infrastructure bonds, terming the reports false and misleading.
Addressing a media conference in Nairobi Friday, CAK Chief Executive Officer Daniel Marube said allegations circulating in sections of the media and on social media have no legal basis and should be disregarded, assuring millions of cooperative members that their savings remain secure.
Marube said the Cooperative Alliance of Kenya, as the apex body representing the country’s cooperative movement, actively participated in the development of the Cooperatives Bill, which is awaiting presidential assent. He noted that throughout the drafting process, public participation and parliamentary deliberations, there was never any proposal to compel SACCOs or cooperatives to channel members’ savings into government infrastructure projects.
He emphasized that the Bill contains no provision allowing the government to access or appropriate members’ savings, adding that cooperatives are autonomous, member-owned institutions whose investment decisions are made democratically by members through their Annual General Meetings.
CAK also clarified remarks made by Deputy President Prof. Kithure Kindiki during this year’s Ushirika Day celebrations, saying they had been taken out of context.
According to Marube, the Deputy President explained that the proposed National Infrastructure Fund is intended to provide an alternative source of financing for government projects, reducing pressure on the national budget and creating more fiscal space to support sectors such as cooperatives and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). He stressed that the Deputy President did not state that SACCO members’ savings would finance government projects.
The Alliance further acknowledged that the controversial NTV Prime News report aired on July 4, 2026, alleging that more than Sh1 trillion in SACCO deposits would be used for infrastructure development, had since been retracted, with Nation Media Group issuing an apology.
Marube urged media organisations to uphold the highest standards of accuracy and verification when reporting on the cooperative sector, warning that inaccurate reporting could erode public confidence and cause unnecessary panic among millions of SACCO members.
He also clarified that the more than Sh1 trillion linked to the SACCO sector is not idle cash but members’ savings that have already been advanced as loans supporting housing, businesses, education, agriculture, healthcare, transport and other productive investments across the country.
“The resources remain in the hands of members, supporting livelihoods and economic growth, and cannot simply be diverted for unrelated purposes,” he said.
Reaffirming the cooperative movement’s role in promoting financial inclusion, wealth creation and socio-economic transformation, CAK said safeguarding members’ savings remains its highest priority and urged the public to ignore misinformation and verify information through official channel