The National Government has kicked off process of offset debts in the farmers cooperatives society by setting up a committee to audit debts worth billions of shillings owed to farmers by cooperatives societies.
The committee which is chaired by cooperatives commissioner is set to look into the issue of debts which has been arising in every year.
Cabinet Secretary for Cooperatives and MSMEs Wycliffe Oparanya said the debts were unsustainable and the debt was created by mismanagement of the societies top management.
The CS who was speaking in Naivasha during the SACCA Congress 2024 said the coffee sector debt had risen from ksh 6 billion to ksh 72 billion within months, he said it was contributed by the management borrowing the funds to pay dividends.
He said the govt has set up an audit committee to tame unwarranted loan applications by management.
YOU MAY ALSO READ:
CS Oparanya gives new KCC management 90 days to give report on how to improve its productivity
The CS also pointed out that the ministry has introduced the cooperative bill (2024) to address challenges facing the sector.
Principal Secretary, State Department for Cooperatives Patrick Kilemi said the growth of saccos has seen 15 million Kenyans join Saccos, majority are from agriculture sector while over four million are from the financial sector
The bill seeks to introduce a term limit for directors, they will be allowed to serve for three years renewable once, and this will help iron out management and governance issues.
The cooperative sector has accumulated more than ksh 1.2 trillion.
By Obegi Malack
Get more stories from our website: Sacco Review.
For comments and clarifications, write to: Saccoreview@
Kindly follow us via our social media pages on Facebook: Sacco Review Newspaper for timely updates
Stay ahead of the pack! Grab the latest Sacco Review newspaper!
