Written by: Mark Matabi, Co-operatives Specialist / Country Lead, EMIRGE Kenya USAID funded Enabling Market Integration through Rural Groups Empowerment (EMIRGE) program in Kenya, has highlighted key lessons on co-operatives development. With the objective of market linkages to ensure co-operatives’ engagements, capitalization, and sustainability; the facilitation of the horizontal or vertical linkages is stifled by co-operatives management practices. This is a clear indication that Kenya’s co-operatives movement is in crisis of co-operative management due to inadequate knowledge sharing and weak regulatory framework. The democratic participation and engagement of the respective members in their co-operative economic activities is still minimal, besides the nominal share contributions. Co-operative members have limited knowledge of their rights, roles and responsibilities. This leaves the management leaders to make unchecked decisions, and undertake only self-aggrandizement activities. With Kenya’s corruption index surging high, at 154 out of 178 globally, co-operatives are not an exception to the expression of this menace that is eroding the co-operative principles and value. If you check the co-operatives’ financial statuses, the book values are not the real values. Additionally, the issues of unprogressive founder syndrome and negative tribalism, clannism and nepotism compromises co-operatives’ management. Some leaders ‘turning’ co-operatives into private or family businesses. This has been exhibited by chaos during some co-operatives’ annual general meetings. Furthermore, co-operative leaders have inadequate life skills, hence stifling the member engagements in co-operative activities. The results are mistrust among (old and new) co-operative members and leaders; and the negative perception of co-operative business models among potential members. In such case, youth and women still shy away from embracing the co-operative business model. Eventually, co-operatives seem to be facing capitalization challenges for meaningful and sustainable co-operative businesses. This in turn makes the co-operatives unable to have a competitive edge or comparative advantage over other forms of businesses among the smallholder, informal producers, and service providers in the current competitive and capitalistic environment. To survive, Kenya’s co-operatives are quickly becoming ‘company’ and ‘partnership’ model businesses, faster than anyone could imagine. Exacerbating this crisis further, are the co-operative officers’ structure and inadequacies. The co-operative staff turnover is increasing, as many officers retire. At a point, the growth of the movement was not commensurate with government co-operative staffing. Today, the county governments are to manage county co-operative officers, who are now being appointed from respective counties and sub-counties, many of whom are inexperienced. In promotion of the co-operatives this could be good. However, in the regulation of co-operatives there are likely to be cases compromise, partialities and indecisiveness among the officers in handling co-operative leadership and management issues. Hence, compromising the internal co-operative leadership and management. In short, the co-operators, promoters and regulators have been unable to manage the exponential growth of the Kenya’s co-operative movement. Therefore, there is need for a concerted effort to build the capacity of co-operative members and leaders on good management practices and corporate governance. This will position co-operatives as a critical business model for a collaborative economy. Models of internal co-operative by-laws, service charters and operational policies for human resource and financial management should be developed and reviewed on a regular basis by co-operative movement stakeholders. Every co-operative should be supported in developing, reviewing and operationalizing periodic strategic business plans. Additionally, in the wake of the technological advancement era, co-operatives should be supported in developing and operationalizing secured technology for enhanced integrated management and financial systems. Just as we need the law for co-operatives development, we need technology for active member participation. Integrated online operations by co-operatives will not only improve trust between members and their leaders, it will also encourage economic participation. In relation to co-operative officers, there should be a rotating inter-county governments’ co-operative staffing system, to regularly rotate the officers with supervisory mandate of co-operatives. Furthermore, the co-operative should enlist credible co-operative private consultants and auditors to work with co-operatives in the respective counties, as service providers. Such service providers should work closely with development organizations that promote the co-operative business model in target communities. The co-operative principles and values should be intensely re-inculcated into Kenya’s co-operative movement, to abate the co-operative mismanagement.
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7/25/2023 02:15:31 am
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