The giant umbrella alliance encompassing all cooperative savings and credit societies as well as unions (Saccos) is supposed to be a vocal mouth piece representative of the more than nine million members of the movement with more than 3000 national societies spread across the country – they want this organization to ensure that they remained national enties.

The alliance which is expected to play roles similar to that of the Central Organization of Trade Unions (COTU) to workers’ trade unions for member societies and unions-  is supposed to be in place and operational before next year’s general elections.

The planning, mobilization, sensitization and execution of the modalities to establish the alliance is being spearheaded by the ministry of cooperative development and marketing in collaboration with chairmen of more than 1200 cooperative societies spread across the country.

Confirming the plans, minister for cooperative development and marketing, Joseph Nyagah says: “The establishment of such a powerful giant national alliance to speak for and defend the interests of members of the cooperative movement in the country is long overdue but we have set the machinery to have it in motion. We must have a powerful voice that must be listened to and obeyed.”

“As we move towards devolved governance structures, especially after the general elections next year and transit to operate under the county devolved governance under the new constitutional dispensation, it is imperative that such an alliance organization is established immediately to protect the interests and properties of the co-operators,” continued Mr. Nyagah.

He says that of particular concern were the interests of the multi- billion shillings giant national cooperative societies and unions like Afya Sacco, Harambee, Wakulima, Hazina, Kenya Planters Cooperative Union (KPCU), Mwalimu, Magereza among others that have over the years accumulated individual assets and savings running into hundreds of billions of shillings.

The minister first made the revelations during the multi-billion shillings Afya WSacco’s Annual Delegates Conference (ADC) attended by more than 2500 delegates from all over the country at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC) and later confirmed to journalists.

At the conference Afya Sacco’s Chairman, Vitalis Lukiri said that the society as at the end of the last fiscal year had accumulated total savings and assets worth more than Kshs. 7.5 billion from a previous low estimated at Kshs. 6.6 billion in the previous financial year.

Mr. Lukiri says as per the end of the last fiscal year, the society had given out loans amounting to Kshs 4.4 billion to its members with the outstanding loan portfolio standing at Kshs. 5.2 billion with a turnover of Kshs. 855 million from a previous low of Kshs. 750.7 million.

He says that Afya Sacco’s performance in the just concluded year had been particularly good with an overall growth rate ranging from 10 to 43 per cent in various disciplines with more than 37, 000 members with share capital worth Kshs. 5.2 billion that roped in a surplus of Kshs. 312 million  from a previous low of Kshs. 282 million.

The other giant national Saccos like Harambee, Wakulima, Mwalimu, Hazina among others according to the ministry of cooperative development had accumulated individual savings and assets ranging from between Kshs 4.5 to 8 billion as at the close of the last financial year. Most of those rated as the big five have accumulated savings and assets worth more than Kshs. 5.5 billion.

It is perhaps from this background and in particular what the devolved county governance under the new constitutional dispensation portends for the national giant multi-billion shillings Saccos that fears of possible threats to devolve these assets and savings as well as their existence as national entities that the need for a powerful giant national alliance of cooperative societies like COTU arises.

Mr. Nyagah says that the Kenya Union of Savings and Credit Cooperatives (KUSCCO) will continue discharging its core mandate, but the proposed giant national alliance is expected to be as vocal as COTU in articulating and defending co-operators interests since they have had no such mouthpiece since independence yet they controlled billions of shillings in assets and savings unlike trade unions.

KUSCCO’s mission in the country’s cooperative movement is the empowerment of SACCOs through advocacy and provision of quality, diversified, innovative and market driven financial and technical services with a proclaimed vision to be – ‘the leading National Co-operative Organization for SACCOs in Kenya.’

The main objectives of KUSCCO are to, Promote the organisation and development of viable co-operative savings and credit societies, disseminate information concerning savings and credit societies and co-ordinate their operating methods and practice to maintain basic uniformity  and foster education, training of members, officials and employees of savings and credit societies

The others are to act as the sole local and international representative and mouthpiece of savings and credit societies and to help improve the internal management of savings and credit societies by providing a standardized management system.

Mr. Nyagah has declared: “I am not ready to see some governor in some county somewhere in Kenya breaking up our giant national Saccos that have been painstakingly build over the years into obscure county entities to suit county interests. I might be the last minister for cooperative development, the ministry might not even be there after me after the next general elections, but I will not allow them to be broken up and we must prepare for it.”

He goes on: “That is why we have to go full throttle to establish a powerful national cooperatives’ alliance organization of Kenya whose authority can be heard and respected throughout the counties across the country. This will ensure that what we have painstakingly built and accumulated over the decades is preserved and not fragmented into county bits and pieces and in the process render the cooperative movement virtually irrelevant to the national economy.”

According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) the cooperative movement in Kenya as at the end of the last financial year, had accumulated a total of assets valued at more than Kshs. 200 billion and savings in excess of Kshs. 170 billion that constituted more than 20 per cent of the country’s savings.

The KNBS statistics indicate that as at that time there were more than 5000 registered cooperative societies and unions across the country in various sectors of the economy whose presence is billed the best, largest and most vibrant in terms of assets and savings as well as general performance on the African continent by the World Council of Cooperative Unions (WOCCU) and at the same time among the best top ten globally rated in the 7^th position.

KUSCCO reports that the sterling performance of the country’s cooperative movement globally is attributed to contributions from the multi- billion shillings giant Saccos with national coverage like Afya Sacco among others.

Mr. Nyagah says that to protect the movement’s assets, savings and interests from any erosion under the devolved county governance structures, the ministry and stakeholders have already mobilised chairmen of more than 1, 200 Saccos spread across the country to execute plans that will lead to the establishment of the proposed giant powerful national alliance before the next general elections.

“We want a powerful, respected and efficient organization that will articulate and represent the voices of more than nine million co-operators in the country. For the more than 100 years the cooperative movement has existed in this country, we have never had such organization. Otherwise what will happen to the national Saccos with their accumulated billions of shillings in assets and savings? Reduced to county entities?” he posed.

The minister vows that whether there will be a ministry of the cooperative development among the 25 ministries stipulated under the new constitution or not, whether he makes it to parliament after next year’s general elections or not, gets appointed to the cabinet or not – he was not ready to be remembered as the last minister of the ministry that saw the fragmentation of the giant national Saccos into obscure county entities.

He argues that the Saccos with strong bases should be left intact as national entities and encouraged to effectively compete with national commercial financial institutions to start managing national devolved funds like the annual county budgetary allocations among other countyrevenues, the Constituency Development Funds (CDF), the Women and Youth Funds among others.

The critical issue, Mr. Nyagah says that unlike the commercial financial institutions, the Saccos were not motivated and driven by profit but also provided huge opportunities for access to affordable micro-financial savings and credit services to millions of Kenyans right from the national to the grassroots levels whose interest rates were extremely low compared to the commercial financial institutions that cannot be accessed by millions.