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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Oketch Gicheru",
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"content": "Young people are also not in the SACCOS because those jobs are not lucrative to them. Most young people do not want to venture in agriculture hence they cannot be members of those cooperatives. That generational gap can be very dangerous for our country if we do not give it life by this kind of legislation. Lack of a succession plan in the cooperatives means that the SACCOS are just avenues for subsistence business and not businesses that have got commercial viability that can compete at a national level and global stage. There is an attempt by this Bill to solve some of these issues. The sections proposing that the counties work with the national level on governance will help solve some of the issues that make it difficult for us to build strong cooperatives. To some extent, those challenges have also gone to gender gaps. You have seen that a number of cooperatives in our villages tend to be male-dominated. The reason for that is what I have just talked about. In most cases, they are small businesses that are not following the corporate structure of bigger businesses. Therefore, the owners of capital, who tend to be men in our communities, tend to dominate those SACCOS. We can solve those issues with proper legal framework being proposed by this Bill. The idea of solving weak legislations and leadership within the cooperatives will be enhanced by this particular Bill. If we pass this particular legislation, we will have SACCOS that have vision, proper mission and will run with proper business practices like those cooperatives in other countries. I will say something now that I have talked about the national gap. Our country has done very well in terms of financial services. If you go to the United States of America or Europe, most people who have tried to do businesses there tend to depend on two things. First, they depend on proper line of credit from banks. The banking institutions are very big to the extent that daily expenses are found within a credit card. People then tend to depend on credit card for consumption, business enterprises and individual subsistence."
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{
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"speaker": null,
"content": "[The Deputy Speaker (Sen. Kathuri) left the Chair]"
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"speaker": null,
"content": "[The Temporary Speaker (Sen. Abdul Haji) in the Chair]"
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Oketch Gicheru",
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"content": "Secondly, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, there is stronger investment in venture support. We have heard about venture investment and venture capitalists who identify a business then go ahead and invest in those businesses. We do not have strong venture capital environment in Kenya neither do we have strong venture businesses where people can place capital and support business in Kenya."
},
{
"id": 1566496,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1566496/?format=api",
"text_counter": 249,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Oketch Gicheru",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."
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{
"id": 1566497,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1566497/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Oketch Gicheru",
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"content": "Today, we do have a strong youth bulge in Kenya. A number of young people have left school and want to start small businesses. We have seen young ladies and young men, who have just left school, going to train on how to use the camera after which, they start a business. The best way to support them is to ensure that we do not put them in a perpetual state of politics. We should not radicalize our young people with the kind of language that I hear from the former deputy president. I have heard him call on young people to take arms and be violent. The best way to help the young people is to put them into cooperatives and support them. That will happen if this Bill passes in this House. This is a very good Bill that we must support. I beg this House to ensure that the clauses on governance structure being proposed in this Bill in Part II and III of the Bill are amended. I wish the Senate Majority Leader was here. If people are to abide by the framework proposed here, why can we not talk about enabling the cooperatives to have a tax advantage? If that is done, the cooperatives can be exempted from some taxation and concessions, which can make it difficult for them to thrive when they have not made good money from the pooling resources by members. We are devolving governance to the grass root level. I, therefore, feel that there is an opportunity for an amendment of this Bill to make sure that we can interrogate the cost of running cooperatives by lowering the transaction structures that membership must then be able to put. Some of the costs of registering cooperatives, which have long been housed at the national level, tend to cater for those facets. However, with this organization, we are now taking cooperative governance to the grassroots by integrating national and county government elements. If this framework passes, I believe there is an opportunity to reduce transaction costs in SACCOs. Cooperatives exist to build businesses that can then access the market. I will also be moving an amendment on the issue of market, in consultation with the Senate Majority Leader. If possible, we should rethink the market power of cooperatives. We must find a way to ensure that the products offered by the cooperatives we are supporting through this Bill do not suffer the harmful effects of market dominance by more established businesses. What do I mean by this? We have seen instances where laws passed in these Houses of Parliament in the past, where cooperatives in the milk industry have faced challenges from monopolies that impose ridiculous standards on the type of milk or the equipment required to bring their products to the market. These standards disadvantage grassroots cooperatives. These are three areas that I believe, if addressed through amendments, will ensure that the cooperatives covered by this legal framework are properly supported and effectively managed. This framework, encompassing both counties and the national government, will play a crucial role in democratizing the governance of cooperatives. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, allow me to conclude by stating my support for this Bill put forward by the Senate Majority Leader. I look forward to its role in strengthening cooperatives within our borders and ensuring a proper environment for business sustainability. I thank you."
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"text_counter": 251,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Oketch Gicheru",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Abdul Haji",
"speaker_title": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Sen. Samson Cherarkey, proceed."
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"id": 1566500,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1566500/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Cherarkey",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, for this opportunity. Allow me to make a few comments on the Cooperatives Bill (National Assembly Bill No.7 of 2024). This is significant, as cooperatives are devolved. I expected this Bill to originate from the Senate. However, as long as we are moving in the same direction, that is accepted. I also hope that in the future, we will ensure the fast-tracking of both the National Assembly and Senate Bills. The cooperative movement in this country originated in 1908 with the formation of dairy sectors by white settlers. In Africa, it is referred as “ harambee ”, “ ujamaa ” and in some cases, coming together to pool resources. Many of us are able to make even small investments because of the cooperative societies we run. I speak as a former Vice Chairperson of the Parliamentary SACCO and also as a Director of the Parliamentary SACCO or PACOSO, as it is commonly called. From the way Members have spoken, I can affirm that the support of SACCOs in this country is critical. Even as Members of Parliament (MPs), we have our own SACCOs, including Bunge SACCO. There are other SACCOs such as Police and Teachers’ SACCOs. Cooperatives assists many of the investments we see, including ownership of small ventures. Even some of the small projects we undertake are made possible through SACCOs. This means we must pool resources. Speaking as a farmer, the cooperative movement must be revived. I am happy that the current Cabinet Secretary for Cooperatives, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises is Hon. Wycliffe Ambetsa Oparanya, he should push to ensure we have more resources to revive and establish most cooperative societies. We come from a farming community, where we need these cooperatives to provide farmers with opportunities. This will ensure that they have access to the support they need. When you examine this Bill, you will notice that it attempts to address key issues such as registration, regulation, supervision, standardization and even the liquidation process of most cooperative societies. However, cooperative societies in this country face many challenges. I fully agree that we must prevent them from collapsing due to poor leadership, weak governance, and corruption, which continues to hinder progress. Look at the coffee and dairy sector, what led to the downfall of the Kenya Cooperative Creameries (KCC)? What happened to the coffee cooperatives? What caused the collapse of most cooperatives? We now have boda boda and matatu Saccos. In Nandi County, we have a number of boda boda Saccos emerging. We also have dairy cooperatives such as Lelchego, Tanki, and Kabiyet Dairies. There are number of cooperatives, such as Ipsile Coffee Cooperative, Kabunyeria Farmers cooperatives, among others in Taunet and Aldai. Therefore, as we move forward as a country, we must pool resources together for the benefit of all. Mr. Temporary Speaker, you may recall that this morning during the talkshow on"
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"content": "Citizen Television"
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