Ali Noor Ismail
The Co-operative movement in Kenya is rated first in Africa with over 22,000 registered co-operative societies commanding a membership of over 14 Million and employing more than 500,000 Kenyans directly and another 1.5 Million indirectly.
Co-operatives in Kenya have mobilized members’ savings and deposits of over Sh 732 billion, with an asset base of over Sh1trillion and loan portfolio exceeding Sh700 billion as at 2017.
Co-operatives thus contribute to about 30 per cent of the National savings and enhance financial inclusion through mobilization of savings and ease of access to affordable financial services.
Co-operative movement in Kenya cuts across all sectors of the economy including agriculture, finance, insurance, health care, transport, education and training, agro-processing and manufacturing activities.
Similarly, a large proportion of land and buildings in this country is owned by co-operatives with the housing cooperatives expected to provide 25 per cent of the 500,000 houses required across the country under the Low Cost Affordable Homes (LCAH) program of the Big 4 Agenda.
The mandate of the State Department for Co-operatives is to create a conducive environment for the growth and development of the co-operative sector through appropriate policy and legal framework.
The department is also mandated to promote good corporate governance, enforce ethical conduct and anti-corruption reforms within the co-operative societies through responsive education and training, advisory services, investigations and financial disclosure processes.
The co-operative movement continues to face various challenges that include weak governance; poor management by boards/committees and corruption among others.
In an effort to address these challenges the Department has recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) on combating and preventing corruption, economic crime and unethical practices in the cooperative sector.
The MoU will encompass lifestyle audits and assets recovery, integrity testing for co-operative sector officials, and prosecution of cases on corruption and economic crime.
On the Insurance front, the important role played by CIC group in ensuring the success of the Kenyan Co-operative Movement cannot be over-emphasized. Indeed, my Department notes with appreciation that the CIC Group Chairman is the current President of the International Cooperatives Alliance (ICA), Africa Chapter.
The role played by CIC in socio-economic growth of our country cannot also be underrated especially in transforming lives through provision of scholarships to various needy children and environmental conservation.
For the last 50 years CIC has continued to offer quality insurance solutions to households, small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), various organizations including cooperatives by safeguarding them from risks they could not otherwise bear. CIC has expanded its services to include investment options with a view to make financial independence a reality for many Kenyans.
The company has witnessed tremendous growth in customers, branches and regional presence with footprints in Kenya, Uganda, Malawi and South Sudan. Encouragingly, it is emerging to be a strong and reputable brand in the regional market.
The commentary is part of the speech by Ali Noor Ismail, Principal Secretary, State Department for Co-Operatives, during The 50th anniversary of the CIC group.
