On Saturday 1st July, cooperatives and cooperators partnered to mark and celebrate the 101st International Day of Cooperatives commonly referred in Kenya as ‘Ushirika Day’.
Themed “Cooperatives for Sustainable Development”, the day was celebrated nationally in various parts of the country, Mombasa County cooperatives not left behind as they commemorated the success of the day at Mkomani Show Ground, Mombasa.
The event brought together various cooperatives within Mombasa County with Saccos such as Alarms Sacco, Ports Sacco, Bandari Sacco, Tramom Sacco, Avaso Sacco, Mafanikio Sacco, Torch Sacco amongst others gracing the event as a reflection of the global impact of the cooperative movement on the world’s economy and directly on the lives of their members.
Speaking during the event, the Mombasa County Co-operatives Development Committee (MCCDC) chairperson, Madam Alice Jowi highlighted that the day was extremely beneficial as it provided a platform for county, national and international governments, the general public and various civil societies to learn more about cooperatives and for the cooperative movement to stamp their might as a key driver in ensuring sustainable development.
Madam Jowi noted that Saccos have transformed various facets of the economy such as agriculture, education, housing amongst other key areas and this should relentlessly strive to improve service delivery and thus work to foresee the achievement of the sustainable development goals.
She further urged the Saccos to sensitize their members on the importance of borrowing wisely to curb loan defaulting, an initiative she lauds will save the cooperators the headache of inconveniencing guarantors and other challenges tied to loan defaulting.
The chairperson however urged the cooperatives to enhance digitization of their services so as to foster efficient and effective service delivery. Madam Jowi also stated that through the uptake of security through digitization, the cooperative movement can be able to achieve the sustainable development goals.
She further appreciated and acknowledged the efforts of all the cooperatives who took part in the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activity which took place at Likoni School for the visually impaired, an event attended by 26 cooperatives including; Stima Sacco, Chai Sacco, NACICO Sacco, Kenya Police Sacco amongst other Saccos. The Saccos took part in the donation of food and toiletries to the learners and also helped in the clearance of school fees for some of the students in the institution.
The 101st Ushirika day was also graced by the Mombasa County Director of Cooperatives, Mr. Nelson Nyoro who thanked the cooperatives for their tremendous efforts in ensuring the success of the cooperative movement in the county stating that the achievements of the cooperatives were worth celebrating and thus Ushirika Day was of great importance to the movement.
Nyoro further hinted that approximately Ksh. 15 billion had been distributed by the cooperatives as of July 1st. Apart from the profits shared to members of various saccos as dividends, the amount, Nyoro said, also included money given out to same members as different loans such as school fees loans, development loans, emergency loans amongst other loan products to help them in their specific needs.
“This marked a great leap for the cooperatives and their efforts are worth celebrating,” noted Director Nyoro.
Various Saccos were lauded during the event for their outstanding impact in the cooperative world. Amongst the feted Saccos were Mafanikio Sacco, featured as the best Tier One credit management Sacco and Bandari DT Sacco as the most innovative Sacco.
Some of the Awards were as follows:
Highest return on assets Tier one Saccos.
Position 1: Washa Sacco
Position 2: Bandari DT Sacco
Position 3: Ports Sacco.
Highest average savings per member.
Position 1: Bamburi Wananchi Sacco
Position 2: Torch Sacco
Position 3: Maersk sacco
Most innovative Tier One Saccos.
Position 1: Bandari DT Sacco
Position 2: Ports Sacco
Position 3: Tabasuri Sacco.
Best in Education and Training
Position 1: Bandari DT Sacco
Position 2: Hardware Sacco
Position 3: Tramom sacco
Best Housing cooperative.
Position 1: Arwa Sacco
Position 2: Mteja housing cooperative.
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