Dar es Salaam. The founder and chief executive officer of Yetu Microfinance Bank, which was recently put under the administration of the central bank, described the move as a surprise to the financial institution which was in the helm of sourcing more financing to improve capital.
Mr Altemius Millinga, who is also one of the depositors in the bank, said the bank was in different stages of raising funds from other partners to beef up their capital, adding that the regulatory control of the bank had stopped everything so far.
Mr Millinga said he was suspended from the bank, along other four senior staff, since September and the bank remained under a central bank official until December 12, 2022 when the statutory administration was announced.
The bank is listed on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE) and crossed to Afrinex Exchange of Mauritius.
“At the time of my suspension, we were working on a prospectus to raise Sh4 billion at Afrinex Exchange and we were negotiating with three other investors,” said Mr Millinga.
The bank went through on-site examination in June last year followed by a special examination in September, according to Mr Millinga.
“If the examination reports were availed to management and board, maybe we could have been in a better position to predict the December 12, 2022 governor’s surprise decision.”
The Bank of Tanzania (BoT) placed the microfinance lender under statutory administration for three months starting December 12, 2022, accusing it of failure to meet regulatory requirements regarding liquidity and capital adequacy.
“To permit Yetu Microfinance Bank Plc to continue with banking operations while under the state of shortage of liquidity and undercapitalization is detrimental to the interest of depositors and poses systemic risks to the stability of the financial system,” the central bank stated.
The move means the bank will not be open for normal business for a period of 90 days during which the BoT will determine an appropriate option.
The central bank said that such a decision aimed at protecting the interests of depositors and maintain stability of the banking sector.
How Yetu started
Mr Millinga along with five colleagues founded an NGO called Youth Self Employment Foundation (Yosefo) in 1997, with the aim of providing youth and women with access to credit and training them how to create their own employment.
In 2014, Yosefo established a company call Yetu Microfinance Ltd which in 2015 issued an IPO and subsequently got listed on the DSE before securing a banking licence in February 2017.
According to Mr Millinga, the bank’s total shareholders fund was Sh7.597 billion as per its 2021 audit report against the regulatory requirement of Sh5 billion. It then dropped to Sh6.8 billion at the end of the second quarter (June 30, 2022).
The bank has 12,350 shareholders who dominate the deposits and loans of the institution.
“Unlike commercial banks, our clients are our borrowers, shareholders and depositors. Our depositors were shocked to learn that Bank of Tanzania was putting our bank under statutory administration in order to protect depositors because we are the borrowers and we also own shares.”
Mr Millinga is now uncertain about the future of the microfinance bank as there is “no ongoing business while costs such as rent, salaries and other expenses remain constant.”
Microfinance policy
“If a commercial bank takes over, the clients will continue to lose their only hope for financial inclusion because it does not have a mission to serve the unbanked, like community banks do.”
This situation reminds him of the impact of closing of community banks such as Mbinga, Njombe and Meru.
“The customers of the banks which were closed remain excluded by the banking system… I think there is a better way of managing challenges in such banks.”
Mr Millinga reiterated the significance of microfinance and community banks in pushing for access to financial services and improve productivity of smallholder farmers, artisan fishermen, and SMEs.
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In response to the latest outbreak, Tanzania’s health authorities set up coordination and response systems, with support from World Health Organization (WHO) and partners, at the national and regional levels and reinforced control measures to swiftly detect cases, enhance clinical care, infection prevention as well as strengthen collaboration with communities to raise awareness and help curb further spread of the virus.
Growing expertise in public health emergency response in the African region has been crucial in mounting effective outbreak control measures. Drawing on experience from the response to the 2023 Marburg virus disease outbreak, WHO worked closely with Tanzanian health authorities to rapidly scale up key measures such as disease surveillance and trained more than 1000 frontline health workers in contact tracing, clinical care and public health risk communication. The Organization also delivered over five tonnes of essential medical supplies and equipment.
“The dedication of frontline health workers and the efforts of the national authorities and our partners have paid off,” said Dr Charles Sagoe-Moses, WHO Representative in Tanzania. “While the outbreak has been declared over, we remain vigilant to respond swiftly if any cases are detected and are supporting ongoing efforts to provide psychosocial care to families affected by the outbreak.”
Building on the momentum during the acute phase of the outbreak response, measures have been put in place to reinforce the capacity of local health facilities to respond to potential future outbreaks. WHO and partners are procuring additional laboratory supplies and other equipment for disease detection and surveillance and other critical services.
Marburg virus disease is highly virulent and causes haemorrhagic fever. It belongs to the same family as the virus that causes Ebola virus disease. Illness caused by Marburg virus begins abruptly. Patients present with high fever, severe headache and severe malaise. They may develop severe haemorrhagic symptoms within seven days.
In the African region, previous outbreaks and sporadic cases have been reported in Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Equatorial Guinea, Rwanda, South Africa and Uganda.
Source: allafrica.com
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Addis Ababa, January 20, 2025</Strong> — Tanzania has declared a Marburg virus disease (MVD) outbreak after confirming one case and identifying 25 suspected cases in the Kagera Region of Northwestern Tanzania. The Marburg virus, a highly infectious and often fatal disease, is similar to Ebola and is transmitted to humans from fruit bats and monkeys. This outbreak marks the nation’s second encounter with the deadly virus, following the outbreak in Bukoba District of Kagera Region in March 2023, which resulted in nine cases and six deaths.
In response to this urgent threat, the Africa CDC is mobilizing strong support to help Tanzania contain the outbreak. A team of twelve public health experts will be deployed as part of an advance mission in the next 24 hours. The multidisciplinary team includes epidemiologists, risk communication, infection prevention and control (IPC), and laboratory experts to provide on-ground support for surveillance, IPC, diagnostics, and community engagement.
The Director-General of Africa CDC, Dr. Jean Kaseya, has engaged with Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan and the Minister of Health to ensure coordinated efforts and secure political commitment for the response.
“Africa CDC stands firmly with Tanzania in this critical moment. To support the government’s efforts, we are committing US$ 2 million to bolster immediate response measures, including deploying public health experts, strengthening diagnostics, and enhancing case management. Building on Tanzania’s commendable response during the 2023 outbreak, we are confident that swift and decisive action, combined with our support and those of other partners, will bring this outbreak under control,” Dr. Kaseya stated.
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Africa CDC is committed to working closely with the Government of Tanzania, regional partners, international organizations, and global stakeholders, including the World Health Organization, to stop the spread of the Marburg virus.
Source: allafrica.com
