BACKGROUND

Following the enactment of the Constitution of Kenya (2010), the Co-operative Societies function was fully devolved to the County Governments. To implement this therefore, the County Government of Busia established the Directorate of Co-operatives to promote and develop Co-operatives in the County. The County Government of Busia recognizes Co-operatives as an important ‘vehicle’ for realizing economic and social development objectives. Co-operatives enhance the optimal performance of agriculture and other productive sectors in Busia by providing avenues for mobilization of resources both human and financial and creating opportunities for investment, credit provision, wealth creation and employment generation.

Co-operatives in Kenya are governed by two legislations namely, the Cooperative Societies Act CAP 490 and the SACCO Act 2008 and their respective supporting regulations. The Directorate of Co-operatives is in the process of developing County Policies and legislations to further accelerate the momentum of growth of the sector by encouraging Co-operative enterprises to expand their operations, build up their capital base and venture further into other potential growth sectors of the economy such as finance, value addition, manufacturing and Information and Communications Technology as envisioned in the Kenya Vision 2030 and the Busia County Integrated Development Plan 2018-2022.

MANDATE & SERVICE DELIVERY

The Directorate of Co-operatives draws its Mandate from the Executive Order No.1 of 2020 by the Governor which bestows the following functions: 

1. Co-operative Development Policy and Legislation;
2.  Provision of co-operative education and training services;
3. Ensure good co-operative governance;
4. Promotion, development and support of co-operative societies;
5. Provision of market information and advisory services;
6. Conduct inspections and inquiries in Co-operatives; and
7. To promote value addition in co-operative societies

Recognizing that Devolution was adopted in the Kenya Constitution 2010 to bring service delivery closer to the Citizens, the Directorate is Headed by the Director of Co-operatives while the technical Officers i.e. the Co-operative Officers head the Sub-county Co-operative Offices to serve the Cooperative Societies and members of the public. In addition, the Busia County Co-operative Enterprise Development Fund has been established to further support the financial needs of the Co-operatives by provision of relatively affordable loans to Co-operative Societies. These are major milestones achieved in the decentralization of services.

3. OUR PHILOSOPHIES

• a) Vision

A leading Directorate in the promotion and development of Cooperative Societies in the County

• b) Mission

To facilitate inclusive and sustainable socio-economic development through promotion and oversight of Cooperative Societies in the county

  c) Strategic Objectives

1. To promote the development of a vibrant cooperative movement
2. To ensure Cooperative Societies are compliant

  d)  Values

1. Leadership;
2. Integrity; and
3. Accountability

4. OUR PARTNERS

1. The State Department of Cooperatives;
2. County Governments;
3. Cooperative Alliance of Kenya, CAK;
4. Kenya Union of Savings and Credit Cooperative, KUSCCO;
5. Cooperative Insurance Company, CIC;
6. KUSCCO Mutual Assurance; and
7. Cooperative Bank, among others

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