Cabinet agrees change in Cooperatives Bill
The Cabinet has approved the Cooperatives Bill, 2023 which re-introduces the role of the Commissioner of Cooperatives among other reforms in public administration.
The legislative proposal is anchored on the National Co-operative Policy (Sessional Paper No. 4 of 2020) entitled “Promoting Cooperatives for Socio-Economic Transformation” and aims to catalyze the contribution of the co-operative movement to national development.
“The proposed law is expected to strengthen the governance framework for Cooperatives and also expand the protection of cooperative members’ funds through enhanced supervision and regulation,
“The strengthening of the institutional framework that oversights Cooperatives is a shot in the arm for smallholder agriculture that is the mainstay of millions of Kenyan households,” reads a dispatch from the Cabinet following a meeting chaired by President William Ruto at State House Nairobi.
“It will facilitate aggregation of agricultural produce for both our staple cash crops and emerging and fast-growing ventures in fisheries & aqua-culture, cereals, horticulture, poultry, beekeeping, avocados, macadamia nuts and cashew nuts, among others,” reads the communique.
Additionally, it says the complex barriers within the coffee sub-sector will be eliminated, allowing farmers to more effectively participate in the coffee value chain and enjoy greater returns.
The Cabinet also approved a raft of reforms on the administration of the mining sector in furtherance of the administration’s agenda to position mining and the extractives sector as a springboard for industrialization, job creation and export development.
The interventions, it was resolved, were preceded by the Nationwide Airborne Geophysical Survey.
The nation’s apex policy organ also assessed the progress being made in the implementation of the National Shared Security Strategy for Enduring Peace and Security within the North Rift Region.
The meeting noted as part of the medium-term strategy for peace in the area, various interventions are continuing as sanctioned by the National Security Council. These include the opening-up of security roads across the concerned counties.
