More than 52,000 county government employees were affected by delays in the transfer of their SACCO deductions in 2025, with county governments and assemblies failing to remit Ksh 1.88 billion to regulated savings cooperatives.

The amount formed the largest share of the Ksh 3.92 billion in deductions that employers across the country failed to forward to regulated Savings and Credit Cooperative Organisations (SACCOs), according to the SACCO Supervision Annual Report 2025 released on Monday, September 28, 2026.

The report shows that 52,746 county employees were affected by the delays, compared to 32,573 in 2024. The outstanding amount also increased from Ksh1.61 billion to Ksh 1.88 billion over the same period.

Of the money owed by county governments and assemblies, Ksh 1.67 billion consisted of unpaid loan repayments, while Ksh 218.53 million represented deductions meant for Back Office Service Activity (BOSA) accounts.

The figures accounted for 48.09 per cent of all unremitted SACCO deductions in 2025, up from 46.07 per cent the previous year.

Public universities and tertiary colleges were the second-largest category of employers with unpaid SACCO deductions, owing Ksh 725.91 million, equivalent to 18.52 per cent of the national total.

State corporations and parastatals followed, with outstanding deductions amounting to Ksh 480.55 million, representing 12.26 per cent.

The overall amount owed to regulated SACCOs increased from Ksh 3.49 billion in 2024 to Ksh 3.92 billion in 2025.

During the same period, the number of SACCOs affected rose from 85 to 89, while the number of members impacted increased from 55,602 to 104,331.

SASRA raises concern

The Sacco Societies Regulatory Authority (SASRA) said the continued failure by county governments and assemblies to remit deductions was a concern, particularly because cooperative development falls under the devolved functions of county governments.

“The Authority continues to express its concern over the continued and perennial failure by county governments and assemblies to honour their remittance obligations,” the report states.

The regulator noted that employers deduct the money directly from workers’ salaries and are expected to forward it to the respective SACCOs after paying employees.

Failure to transfer the funds can disrupt SACCO operations, especially those that depend heavily on county employees for membership and savings.

SASRA warned that delayed remittances put members’ savings at risk and weaken confidence in the cooperative sector.

The authority said it would continue pursuing policy reforms to stop public institutions from diverting employee deductions to other uses instead of transferring the money to the intended SACCOs.