Cabinet Secretary for Cooperatives and Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Hon. Simon Chelugui has stated that the government shall mobilize the available resources in the country to generate revenue rather than depending on borrowed money.
Speaking during the first co-operative stakeholders annual conference organized by the Cooperative University of Kenya (CUK), held at Sarova Whitesands Hotel, the CS noted that the country has a lot of untapped resources which should be mobilized to generate revenue.
“We can mobilize our own savings by investing in express highway, water projects, empowerment projects amongst others rather than borrowing,” Chelugui said. “Why should we borrow money from other people yet we have money with us?” He added.
The CS said about 63% of Kenyans rely and benefit indirectly or directly from the cooperative sector which according to the Nationwide Co-operative Sector Baseline survey of 2021, there were a total of 23,275 registered cooperatives in 2018, accumulated deposits of Ksh. 844 billion which amounts to 21.5% of the National savings and export earnings of Ksh. 20,839 billion.
The sector, which cuts across all other sectors both in the informal and formal sectors, is a key drive of the Kenya’s economy and various benefits such as wealth creation, agricultural production, provision of housing, mobilization of sales, and the ability of the members to access loans have been accrued from the sector.
Co-operatives further play a major role in the agricultural sector with various crops such as coffee being a major revenue earner. CS Chelugui noted that the cash crop, if wisely invested in, could generate a lot of income for the country thus, the ministry works to enhance the production of coffee in large scale.
“Coffee is just not an ordinary crop. We should invest more to generate more,” CS Chelugui emphasized.
He added that coffee was a foreign exchange earner and thus must restore back the mandate of Kenya Planters Co-operative Union (KPCU) to restore the quality of coffee in the country. He further stated that the country should support and empower farmers so as to expand the production base in the country and increase food production.
To push the Bottom-up economic agenda, the CS noted that the government has leveraged on cooperatives as a transformative vehicle to reach individuals at the bottom of the pyramid.
Chelugui also said that the ministry has thrown in efforts to increase inter-governmental relations, trained officers in the counties and foresee an improved production capacity in the push for transformation in the sector. Furthermore, he hinted, the ministry has worked to expand its reach to the rural areas and plans to deploy more extension officers to the farms as a way of connecting with the farmers.
He however noted that the sector has had its fair share of challenges with a wide mismanagement of the cooperatives pronounced. He warned that the government would not condone any mismanagement in the cooperative movement and thus everyone should uphold good governance and proper management to restore back the lost glory.
He called upon the cooperatives to foster proper management in their societies to steer forward the cooperative movement, notably saying, a fall in one cooperative could hamper the whole cooperative model.
The CS asked the Sacco Society Regulatory Authority (SASRA) and the Commission of Cooperatives to work with the county governments and increase inter-governmental relations in a bid to remain viable in trade.
He further urged the societies to embrace and take seriously the uptake of technology in their societies, stating that technology was viable to the sector and greatly assisted in the management of members’ deposits.
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