Cooperatives Will Drive our Bottom-up Economic Transformation Agenda – William Ruto

…To strengthen cooperative societies

…Cooperatives to help stimulate the economy

…To complement cooperatives by setting up aggregation and distribution centers for storage, value addition, and marketing of agricultural products.

Kenyan President William Ruto has called for the strengthening of cooperatives in the county as part of the Bottom-up Economic Transformation Agenda.

President Ruto, who attended the Ushirika Day 101st celebrations at the  Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) Nairobi on Saturday, said his administration will open up working spaces for cooperatives and called on county governments to incorporate cooperative societies in their development plans particularly in markets in order to open up businesses for cooperative members. 

“We will be building markets in every sub-county. We want the markets to be where the cooperatives are,” he said.

The head of state said the cooperatives will be in charge of managing the markets and industrial parks across the counties and sub-counties countrywide.

According to the president, most of the products which are traded in markets such as agricultural produce emanate from the farms of the cooperative members and thus the organizations will be able to curb middlemen and create a level ground for businesses to prosper without disadvantaging farmers.

“Those markets in every sub-county and the county aggregation and industrial park in every county should be managed by cooperatives because they own the products in the markets,” he said.

“We want to ensure that brokers and cartels do not interfere with farmers in the grassroots; they will  both be meeting in the markets.” 

The head of state further urged Kenyans to also join the cooperatives as a way to foster economic unity in the country.

He noted that cooperatives also have the power to nurture a saving culture and offer members access to affordable financing.

Present were Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, Cabinet Secretaries Simon Chelugui (Cooperatives and MSMEs), and Alice Wahome (Water and Irrigation), among others.

“We will put in place new policies, including the establishment of a central liquidity facility, to enhance the efficiency and quality of Sacco services.::

The President observed that this will also reduce operational risks encountered by Saccos.

“The changes will also facilitate short-term inter-Sacco borrowing and facilitate access to the national payment system,” he added.

He explained that the Government is complementing cooperatives by setting up aggregation and distribution centers for storage, value addition, and marketing of agricultural products.

“The objective of this partnership is to reduce post-harvest losses, eliminate predatory cartels and boost farmer earnings.”

Ruto said he is proud of the role played by the cooperative movement in driving national economic transformation.

“The achievements so far, its level of dedication to the inclusion and empowerment of cooperators throughout the country, give us reasons to be confident that together, we are marching steadily along the path towards inclusive growth, shared prosperity, and sustainable development,” he said.

Mr. Gachagua urged farmers to group themselves in Saccos to help increase their bargaining power.

The amazing part of the event is when he visited the exhibition stands of cooperatives and SACCO it was a fun and memorable moment celebrating the International Day of Cooperatives in Kenya.