- Kilifi County awarded Ksh6 million in matching grants to 12 Saccos under its Shilling kwa Shilling Initiative.
- Governor Gideon Mung’aro also set aside Ksh15 million this financial year to expand the programme and boost affordable farmer loans.
- He urged speedy enactment of the Cooperative and Sacco laws to strengthen regulation and support the sector.
Governor Gideon Maitha Mung’aro has announced that 12 Saccos in Kilifi County have qualified for matching grants worth Ksh 6 million under the Shilling kwa Shilling Initiative, in which the county government matches every shilling a Sacco invests.
The Governor made the announcement in a speech read on his behalf by County Executive Committee Member (CECM) for Cooperative Development, John Raymond Ngala, during the 104th International Cooperative Day celebrations held at Mariakani Vocational Training Centre.
Mung’aro said his government has set aside Ksh 15 million this financial year to expand the programme. “The funds will enable Saccos to offer affordable loans to farmers,” he said.
He said cooperatives are not merely business enterprises but institutions of hope, unity, shared prosperity and social transformation.
“The cooperatives empower communities, reduce inequalities, create opportunities for jobs for people, hence strengthen the social fabric that holds us together as people of Kilifi County,” he said.
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The Governor said his administration, through the National Agricultural Value Chain Development Project (NAVCDP), continues to strengthen cooperative development. He said the 12 Saccos have created employment by engaging 35 bookkeepers, while cooperative leaders are receiving governance and management training to strengthen accountability, professionalism and sustainability.
He said organised farmer groups and cooperatives are using enterprise development grants to invest in aggregation centres, irrigation infrastructure, value addition facilities, post-harvest management systems and other income projects.
“We have also rolled out the subsidised e-voucher livestock vaccination programme by ensuring that livestock farmers benefit direct from the health services,” he said.
He encouraged every farmer in the region to join a farmer cooperative to benefit from subsidised inputs, extension services, the vaccination programme, market access and other government support.
Mung’aro called on the national government to move with speed to assent to the proposed Cooperative Societies Act and Sacco Societies Act, saying the reforms would help modernise the sector, improve regulation and strengthen cooperatives.
By Tzozungu Kombe
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