The CCAP Synod of Livingstonia plans to start a bank in the country, following in the footsteps of the Catholic Church which is part of a consortium that is taking over ownership of MyBucks Bank.
General Secretary of the Livingstonia Synod, Reverend William Tembo, said the church plans to turn its SACCO into a commercial bank.
According to Tembo, the decision to start the bank was made in 2018 at the church’s General Assembly which was held at Nalikule in Lilongwe.
He added that the plans were put on hold after Malawi Union of Savings and Credit Cooperatives (MUSCO) advised the church to first learn from successes of its SACCO.
It was revealed on Tuesday this week that the Catholic Archdiocese of Lilongwe has joined forces with Ugandan company Centenary Rural Development Group Limited to acquire 100% of shareholding in My bucks Banking Corporation Malawi.
Some Malawians have since hailed the churches for venturing into businesses.
“This a good development, Churches have to explore other avenues for their revenue generation. This way of fundraising can help the churches to be financially independent rather than depending much on individual contributions,” one person wrote on Facebook.
Another wrote: “No one came forward with complaints when churches were opening schools. Not a single person criticised the churches for diverging from spreading the word of God when the churches were establishing health institutions all over the country. The churches are establishing financial institutions, and that’s where we’re drawing the line? If a church can have a bank account, it sure can own a whole bank.”
