The country’s cooperative movement is setting pace in Africa in terms of both deposit, asset and membership thereby enjoying position one and seventh in the continent and the globe respectively.
And to retain the status, there is need for the cooperatives leaderships to embrace transformative practices by exploiting various openings like the latest technology, product development to enhancing capital build up to maintain their position at the helm of the game.
Simon Chelugui, Cabinet Secretary for Cooperative and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Development said the approach was critical to prepared the co operative for future disruptions, maintain member trust and continue contributing to the socio -economic development of their communities.
The CS who was speaking during an annual workshop for Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of the Co-operative societies sponsored by Cooperative Bank of Kenya in which he called on the managers to develop and harness resilience to navigate through setbacks and emerging challenges in the market conditions with confidence and foresight.
“Focusing on resilience will empower CEOs with the skills and strategies necessary to not only withstand adversity but to transform challenges into opportunities for growth and innovation”, he said adding that through resilient leadership, cooperatives can become beacons of stability and progress in an ever-changing world.
The Government , he said, was unwavering in its commitment to providing an enabling legal and policy framework for cooperatives to thrive and had developed the Cooperatives Bill No. 7 of 2024 currently at its second reading in parliament marking a significant milestone in the legislative efforts to bolster the movement to greater heights .
‘This bill has overcome the last hurdle having been there for the last 15 years without not seeing the light of day’ , adding that deadlock was broken following an agreement between the Ministry and the Council of Governors who amicably resolved the contentious issues.
“The new legislation provides a comprehensive framework for the regulation of cooperatives by both levels of government, while promoting self-regulation within the structure and enhancing governance tools in the societies and was expected to elevate the sector to new heights of good governance, increased efficiency, and effectiveness in service delivery, leading to high performance across the board”, the CS affirmed
Chelugui was optimistic that the new Cooperatives Act will be officially launched by the President in July during this year’s Ushirika Day celebrations.
In addition to the legislative agenda, the CS said that the government is implementing institutional reforms targeting various cooperative production value chains including coffee, dairy, and cotton.
He explained that the Government is committed to safeguarding the wealth of cooperative members and ensuring that those entrusted with management and leadership roles are held to the highest standards of accountability.
“Protecting the interests of our cooperative members remains our top priority, and we are determined to create an environment where their investments are secure and their trust is upheld”, he added.
The CS gave an example of Kenya Union of Savings & Credit Cooperatives (KUSCCO), the umbrella body of savings and credit cooperatives (SACCOs) in Kenya which has been found to have improperly mismanaged the union funds ,
“The government will not hesitate to take firm action against any individuals found to have embezzled the union funds”, he firmly warned
The CS however commended the Cooperative CEOs for the work they are doing saying that their efforts are central in driving the cooperative movement forward and contributing to the socio-economic development of the nation.
“As we move forward, let us embrace the principles of resilience and strong leadership. Let us work together to build a cooperative sector that is robust, dynamic, and capable of withstanding future challenges’ Chelugui said
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent global economic recession, cooperatives and other businesses have been pushed to their limits, facing unprecedented challenges that have tested their stability and adaptability.
The theme of this year’s workshop, “Leading with Resilience,”
Cooperative Bank group Managing Director Gideon Muriuki said the technical people who are leading Saccos and other societies should adopt innovative business models in order to register impressive results.
“Building a resilience of cooperative societies is not a one day achievement but requires CEOs to lead from the front. The managers should therefore work on transformation policies and at the same time sustain the same “, he added
Dr. Muriuki noted that Cooperative Bank has maintained a tremendous growth for more than two decades due to regulatory compliance and strict adherence to all prudential guidelines.
“Cooperative societies need to have a strong governance structure, united board of directors and implementing sound strategic plans and I want to call on society managers and directors to establish a fully functional transformation division with a key mandate to track and monitor all the transformation initiative and enablers.
Commissioner for cooperative David Obonyo emphasized on the need for leaders to adhere to chapter six of the constitution on integrity saying that in the past there have had a few institutions struggling with liquidity and governance issues due to the managers and directors not adhering to prudential guidelines.
“Institutions have lost money and others shut down their businesses, the Government essence is that any leader or CEO accused or implicated on funds embezzlement will be subjected to the full force of the law,” said Obonyo.
During the workshop, the CEOs were taken through topics on promoting leadership and development culture, Ethical leadership and Social Responsibility and also Economic leadership for enterprise development.
By Wangari Ndirangu
