This archive report was first published on 21 July 2021.
Cooperative Commissioner Geoffrey Njang'ombe highlighted the sector's achievements in an exclusive interview with Sacco Review, marking the International Day of Cooperatives, also known as Ushirika Day.
One notable achievement is the digitization of coffee factories in major growing zones. The State Department of Cooperatives (SDC) piloted the initiative last year, providing systems such as weighing scales and computer applications to capture member information. This data can now be shared with the SDC, counties, and other stakeholders.
The SDC has since expanded the initiative to 200 factories, providing digital weighing scales, computer applications, and equipment. Additionally, the department is modernizing the previous 25 factories by installing modern metallic coffee drying tables, solar security systems, and CCTV cameras.
The SDC has also conducted registration of farmers, capturing their bio data for the 25 factories, and carried out audits. In fact, the department has done over 300 performance audits of cooperatives this year, compared to 52 in the previous year.
Furthermore, the SDC has conducted a feasibility study for the PAVI-PAVI Cooperative in Kwale, with plans to establish a ginnery worth Kshs 300 million, pending funding.
The National Cooperative Policy is another significant development, which has been validated by stakeholders and is currently before Parliament. The policy aims to review cooperative registration, and a taskforce has been appointed to implement it. The team is working to come up with a bill, which is expected to be completed soon.
The SDC has also held stakeholders' meetings to engage cooperatives on the national policy. Additionally, the department has come up with a policy for a Central Liquidity and Shared Services Facility, which will enable Saccos to share resources and participate in the central payment system.
Geoffrey Njang'ombe emphasized the importance of good governance in the cooperative sector, advising Saccos to put in place the right policies to prevent management problems and misappropriation of funds.
Lastly, the SDC has continued to modernize the New KCC, which deals with dairy cooperatives, resulting in an increase in milk prices from Kshs 30-33 to Kshs 40.
