Taraba Savings and Loans Limited and Challenges Bedeviling It!

Taraba Savings and Loans Limited is a licensed state government owned institution saddled with banking operations established primarily to support its customers who are mostly civil servants. It is Funded mainly by the state government to provide soft loans to civil servants to enable them solve some of their domestic challenges and pay back over a period of time with a little interest. 

The bank also aids customers to own their houses while in service through a mortgage scheme. It is also part of its responsibilities to allow customers access over drafts to reduce pains associated with bottlenecks in the payment of monthly salaries.

 

For more than two decades this bank has been operational with hundreds of civil servants, retirees, members of private sectors and business men and women enjoying the service of the bank. This may not be unconnected with the effort put in by the qualified, competent and professional bankers manning it.

 

This giant effort encouraged many other customers from all walks of lives to patronize it especially from the federal and local government workers and open accounts with it to benefit from the bank's numerous gestures. 

So also the bank benefits from its profit deduction and interest from the loans and overdrafts and the revenue helps in maintaining the running of the place since it is not initially in the main stream of the state civil service. 

 

Contrary to the objectives of the establishment of the bank, every customer is aspiring to change from the bank to other banks in order to have stability in his or her salaries.

 

Sadly, a few months back, Taraba Savings and Loans used to be the first bank to pay salaries. Miraculously however, customers began to have a twist from September last year when salaries were paid in all banks in Taraba state, leaving civil servants banking with it without being paid until the end of October when all banks had finished payment then the bank paid a combined September and October salaries.

 

Be it as it may, the unfortunate development customers are facing in the bank today has dampened the morale of civil servants banking with it, Nobody, not even staff of the bank will give satisfactory explanation where precisely the problem lies. Is it from the bank? The Ministry of Finance or where?

 

At the moment when all banks paid respective customers salaries for March and April this year from some Ministries and Agencies, the Taraba Saving and Loans has no idea whether its customers will even be paid March Salaries talkless of April.

 

Most of the customers of the bank who are lamenting the sudden change and twist in the persistent delay in the payment of salaries are in a state of confusion arising from the harsh economic situation. 

Even in markets in Jalingo today, such unpaid civil servants are finding it difficult to make simple purchases nor are they allowed to obtain any form of credit.

 

Last Easter, fasting and Sallah were celebrated without salaries. At the moment some civil servant banking with the state Savings and Loans finds it extremely challenging to go to work. This is due to lack of salaries.

 

However, should every bank fail to pay it is a different ball game altogether but where all banks will pay its customers with the exception of one and no cogent reason is given, it sends bad signals. 

The State Government being the proprietor of the bank should investigate the causes with the view to tackling it once and for all for fleeing customers to return as well as restore the lost confidence in the existing customers.

Sadly, most of the civil servants who patronized the bank do so because of the past effort of the bank and maintaining such integrity is the best to make it an enviable one.

 

Customers can do well by being extra-patience with the bank in order to allow the findings of the State Government for possible solutions. 

 

A.S. Moyoyo, a veteran journalist and public commentator writes from Jalingo.