Simon Kiprono Chelugui has an overflowing docket as the Cabinet Secretary to the freshly minted Ministry for Co-operatives and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Development.
Top on the list of his first priorities, according to players in the Co-op industry, is to jumpstart a review of Cap 490 of the Co-operatives Act, which is old and outdated and is not reflective of the new constitution which has already devolved functions of the co-operatives sector to County Governments.
The Co-operatives Sector is also establishing a central finance facility to assist those Societies that could be facing financial distress – a platform that could operate in a similar model to the inter-lending facility that serves the banking industry.
Mr Chelugui will be inheriting a dilapidated Ministry, which has been reduced to a state department, with severe budget cuts and functions that were confined to mere supervisory roles.
With ICT becoming a critical component of the financial system, the Co-op sector is also expected to create a platform that will allow more minor players in the industry to share ICT services with the much bigger and financially muscled players in the deposit-taking Sacco sub-sector.
Mr Chelugui is the current Cabinet Secretary for Labour and Social Protection following his appointment by the former President Uhuru Kenyatta administration. He previously served as CS for Water, Sanitation, and Irrigation between 2017 and 2021 before he was moved to the Ministry of Labour in October 2021.
He holds a Master’s Degree (M.Sc.) in Finance, Investment and Strategic Management and a Bachelor of Commerce (Management Science Option) from the University of Nairobi, Kenya. He has also been extensively trained in Corporate Governance.
Mr Chelugui has over twenty years of work experience in corporate governance, policy formulation, monitoring and reviewing implementation and technical policies, water engineering, finance, investment and strategic management. He has worked directly with different Government institutions.
He was vested with the Elder of Golden Heart (EGH) Presidential Award for his outstanding stewardship and service.
Mr Chelugui is the only Cabinet Secretary who served under former President Uhuru Kenyatta to have been retained by the new Head of State William Ruto’s administration.
Mr Chelugui is expected to be instrumental in executing plans by the Kenya Kwanza administration to invest in small businesses to help boost job creation through the so-called ‘hustler fund’ that is set to provide State-backed concessional loans to small businesses that have struggled to access financing from mainstream banks.
He has previously worked as the CDF Director and Board Chairman. He is considered one of the brains behind the Economic Stimulus Package (ESP) that saw over Ksh 22 billion pumped into various public development projects.
“Thank you, Your Excellency Dr William Samoei Ruto, CGH, Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces of the Republic of Kenya, for nominating me to the Cabinet to serve as the Cabinet Secretary for Co-operatives and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises(MSME) Development.
Thank you for your faith in me. Without your support and mentorship, it would not have been possible. Your Excellency, I am very grateful to you for this gesture,” said Mr Chelugui on one of his social media accounts.
Mr Chelugui is considered one of the wealthiest Cabinet Secretaries with vast investments and assets. He has been CS in two ministries under former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s administration and as the former director of the Betting Control and Licensing Board. He is considered one of the closest allies and friends of President William Ruto.
His involvement in active politics has been marked by intense horse trading and false starts, including five years ago when Stanley Kiptis trounced him at the nomination level in the Baringo County Governor’s seat.
The political grapevine has it that a deal between President William Ruto and CS Chelugui for the latter not to run for Baringo Governor’s seat during this year’s August polls is said to have led to his reward with a Cabinet Post in President Ruto’s administration.
After losing the Baringo Senate seat in 2017, Mr Chelugui secured the Cabinet position for Water and Sanitation in the former President Kenyatta administration, demonstrating his closeness to President Ruto. He later moved to Labour and Social Protection in a Cabinet reshuffle. In 2013, he lost the Baringo Governor’s race to Mr Benjamin Cheboi.
