Steven Otieno, Advisor on Cooperatives in the Office of the President, has stated that the cooperative sector should adapt a rubric to measure their progress and journey towards transformation.
Speaking during the cooperative stakeholders’ annual conference which brought together various stakeholders in the country, Mr. Otieno noted that a clear cooperative strategy should be adopted to enhance growth in the sector.
He further invited the Cabinet Secretary for Cooperatives, Hon. Simon Chelugui to have a source of data for cooperatives come from the Cooperative University of Kenya to foster research, planning and steer the sector forward.
“Today, in this administration, we are talking transformation. We need to measure our progress towards transformation and the attainment of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” Otieno said.
Mr. Otieno noted that the country has not yet achieved its potential in terms of knowledge management and thus the intervention of the cooperative university is required to assist in developing a cooperative management information system which could make planning and research rather easy and thus transform the cooperative sector.
Otieno highlighted that the government is at the forefront in creating an enabling environment for cooperatives to thrive. This, he added is through the creation of a stand-alone ministry, availability of an advisory unit and also the inclusion of cooperatives across all the key value chains such as agriculture, livestock, mining, blue economy among others.
Plans are underway by the government to ensure that each ward accommodates at least one cooperative in all the 1,450 wards countrywide. The department is leveraging on the support of the World Bank of 1,050 wards by providing extension support.
However, he reiterated that the plans can only be achieved through the measurement of the cooperatives progress in the Kenya’s economy.
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