Kenyan counties in a pact to improve cooperative sector

Makueni Governor Kivutha Kibwana (PHOTO: Courtesy)

NAIROBI, KENYA: Counties have adopted partnership programmes with international organisations to improve the efficiency of cooperative societies within their jurisdiction.

In one of the programmes, officials from 10 counties have been equipped with skills necessary to increase their abilities to work with cooperative stakeholders to set the policy agendas for their counties.

The Global Communities Public Policy Making Processes (PPMP) was developed after the USAID/CLEAR program conducted a baseline in 33 Kenyan counties. The survey sought critical information to better understand the status and levels of policy formulation skills, understanding, and appreciation of the county officer's role in creating an enabling business environment for cooperatives to thrive.

The findings of the survey revealed a significant gap in stakeholder engagement, policy development, and drafting skills.

Speaking during the second graduation of the programme, Makueni Governor Prof Kivutha Kibwana noted that the skill set acquired will enable counties to formulate and implement robust policies and legislation.

“Through the PPMP training, I am convinced that the 40 cooperative officials graduating today have been equipped with the necessary skills to formulate and implement robust county-specific policies and legislation.”

The USAID/ CLEAR Program’s Chief of Party, Kristin Wilcox Feldman said: “During this critical moment in the global pandemic, uplifting the importance of socially-minded businesses could not be more important. The cooperative sector in Kenya needs to respond to the call for an engaged and supportive enabling environment that allows the cooperators to ‘build back better’.” Kristin added.

“We believe this PPMP program is only the first step in developing future county synergies and a robust and competitive cooperative policy environment.”

Dr. George Njenga, Dean, Strathmore Business School noted: “The executive PPMP training is a game-changer in the cooperative policy-making process by the county government.”

Officials from county governments of Mombasa, Kilifi, Taita Taveta, Makueni, and Kericho graduated from the programme. This follows another training and graduation of 55 cooperative leaders drawn from county governments of Narok, Kiambu, Nandi, Homa Bay, and Nyeri.