Embu County has targeted to have all its adult population in cooperative societies.
County Director of Cooperatives David Muriuki said sector stakeholders in the county are focused on recruiting 600,000 members, which the approximate number of people in the adult bracket.
He said the cooperative movement in Embu controls up to Ksh14 billion in liquid assets against a potential Ksh20 billion, which could be achieved within the next one year.
“We are determined to ensure that the estimated population of 600,000 residents of Embu County save to eventually amount to Ksh20 billion,” said Muriuki.
He said the national and county governments had forged a united front to encourage the residents to increase the number of active societies operating in the region to 300, up from the present 281.
The director said cooperatives remained the pillar on which the region’s agricultural and financial resources could be harnessed to spur the region’s economy and ensure that everyone benefitted.
Major marketing campaigns to ensure that residents are reached through awareness information on the importance of saving and borrowing loans are being intensified to reach each person right from the homestead, village, Ward and constituency levels.
“Each homestead in the village should at least have an active individual in the cooperative society. We have realized savings in a Sacco is one of the key ways to spur the economy,” said Muriuki.
Embu County Agricultural officer Njeru Mwita said it is the intension of the government to ensure that the various cash crops are managed and marketed under cooperatives.
“There are rigorous campaigns to ensure that no agricultural produce will in future be sold out of Embu before value addition,” he revealed.
He pointed out that both the national and county governments have launched major campaigns to ensure farmers accessed water for irrigation.
Agriculture CECM John Nyagah, who was the chief guest, stressed the importance of societies ensuring that documents surrendered as collaterals for loans are properly safeguarded.
Cases of loss of documents, such as title deeds and motor vehicle log books, have been reported in some societies.
Nyagah warned that the county government will not hesitate to close down societies involved in financial malpractice, including audits of books of accounts by quack firms.
He praised the management of the various societies for prudent financial management of resources and adoption of digital technology.
By Robert Nyagah
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