ROSCA RULES

In order to ensure good discipline, rules that the members all agree to abide by must be followed
strictly. Hence fines might be imposed on people who break the rules.

Here are some of the rules that you will find in most village banks:

1. People who miss a bank meeting without a good excuse or without sending advance notice to
the secretary must pay a K20.00 fine.

2. If anyone is more than 30 minutes late to a ROSCA meeting she must pay a K10.00 fine.

3. If anyone fails to bring or send her mandatory savings to the ROSCA meeting she has to pay a
K50.00 fine.

4. The chairperson reads out the names of all the borrowers who are behind in their loan
payments.

5. If a loan is not fully repaid by the due date, the ROSCA may use the person’s savings to pay off
as much of the loan as possible. If his/her savings are not sufficient she must turn her personal
collateral over to the ROSCA treasurer.

6. If a person cannot fully repay her loan by the due date because of some misfortune, the ROSCA
may decide to give him/her extra time to pay without penalty. This is called ― rescheduling a
loan.

7. If a PERSON has a big loss due to some misfortune, but s/he is a member in good standing, the
ROSCA may decide to give her an additional loan to pay back her first loan and re-establish her
business. This is called ―refinancing a loan

8. Since dividends are based on how much savings a person has, if a member has to use his/her
savings to pay off her loan s/he may not get a dividend.

9. Any ROSCA officer who misuses the ROSCA’s money must repay the money and should be
removed from his/her office.

10. Any member who abuses the bank or acts irresponsibly can be kicked out.
 11. All banking transactions should be made during the ROSCA meeting in front of the whole
group.

12. Only members of the management committee may authorize or pay administrative expenses
for the village bank. These must be reasonable and receipts should be gotten whenever
possible.

13. Only the treasurer handles cash during the meeting. If any cash is missing she is responsible
and must make up the difference herself.

Members must appreciate the rules and the need to pay fines, because the rules protect their money
and the fines go into their group fund. Members that consistently miss meetings, break the rules or do
not pay their loans back on time may have to wait longer to get a loan, or they may get smaller loans. If
they persist they might be asked to leave the ROSCA.