The National Cooperative Bill aims to strengthen governance within the cooperative movement by enhancing leadership structures to promote transparency and accountability. It seeks to empower cooperative members, giving them a stronger voice in governance decisions and financial matters.
To achieve these goals, the Cooperative Bill currently under consideration in the Senate proposes the introduction of term limits for cooperative leaders. However, cooperative leaders have strongly opposed the proposal that would limit elected leaders to two terms.
In a meeting held in March this year and organized by the Co-operative Alliance of Kenya (CAK), which brought together chairpersons and CEOs of cooperatives and SACCOS, the leaders resolved to call for the removal of this proposal. They made several recommendations:
Revert to the Original Bill: The meeting suggested returning to the original bill that was tabled in the National Assembly. This bill states that “Members of the board of directors shall be elected for a term of three years and shall be eligible for re-election.”
Amend Section 61(2) for Self-Regulation: Cooperatives should be allowed to set the terms for board members in their own by-laws instead of imposing a blanket restriction.
Remove Section 61(2) and Develop Regulations: Instead of enforcing term limits in the Bill, the Cabinet Secretary in charge of Cooperatives should be permitted to develop regulations that guide board members’ terms of service.
The stakeholders presented several reasons why Section 61(2) should be reviewed or eliminated:
– Limiting board members to two terms is unfair: This restriction could deplete the leadership resources available within cooperatives.
– Not all members are qualified to serve on the board: The assumption that all members have the capacity to lead may not be realistic.
– Contradiction with Clause 4 of the Bill: The proposed term limits contradict the principles of democratic member control, autonomy, and independence.
– Interference with democratic rights: Limiting board members to two terms of three years each would infringe upon members’ democratic rights to elect their preferred leaders.
– Over-regulation of cooperative affairs: The proposal introduces unnecessary legal restrictions on cooperatives, undermining their autonomy.
– Existing regulatory bodies provide sufficient oversight: The Commissioner, County Directors of Cooperatives, and SASRA already offer adequate safeguards against mismanagement.
– Democratic control should be upheld: Members should retain the right to elect their leaders without external restrictions.
– Public participation already rejected term limits: The issue of board term limits was thoroughly discussed during public consultations and was ultimately excluded from the initial draft bill.
– Existing laws are adequate: The Cooperative Societies Act (1997) and Cooperative Rules (2004) already provide clear guidelines on board elections and term limits.
– Impact on secondary cooperatives and unions: If not amended, Section 61(2) could disrupt leadership succession in secondary cooperatives, unions, and national cooperatives.
