The Kilifi County Government has introduced new laws to regulate the activities and operations of Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies (SACCOs) across the county, in a move aimed at protecting members from exploitation and promoting accountability within the cooperative sector.
Speaking during the Imarika SACCO Delegates Meeting in Kilifi Town, County Director of Cooperative Development Mary Mkare announced that the Kilifi County Cooperative Policy and the Kilifi County Cooperative Act 2023 had been approved and were ready for implementation.
“At long last, the Kilifi County Cooperative Policy was adopted by the County Assembly and is now ready for implementation. We are now talking of the Kilifi County Cooperative Act 2023, which was assented to by Governor Gideon Mung’aro and is ready for gazettement, paving the way for the development of regulations,” she said.
Mkare noted that Kenya was also making national progress in aligning the Cooperative Societies Act with the 2010 Constitution. “Our national cooperatives law, the mother act, has never been amended to align with the Constitution. However, strides have been made, the National Assembly passed the Cooperative Bill, and it is now before the Senate, signaling a new dawn in cooperative governance and regulation across the nation,” she added.
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She further lauded Imarika SACCO for its remarkable growth in membership and assets, as well as its effective governance and market strategies. “We now have a clear framework to monitor and evaluate whether the Sacco meets its goals and delivers tangible value to its members. Your growth has seen Imarika ranked position 15 out of 177 SACCOs countrywide and the leading one in the Coast region,” she said.
Imarika SACCO Chairman John Ziro noted that the institution continues to grow rapidly, with total assets valued at Ksh 15 billion and loans disbursed amounting to Ksh 13 billion. He credited the success to the adoption of technology, which has made mobile banking and loan access easier for members.
“We’ve made progress and embraced technology as our members can now access their accounts through mobile banking. We have also issued loans worth Ksh 13 billion,” he said, adding that the new county regulations would help strengthen the SACCO sector even further.
By Nehemiah Okwembah
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