Inquiries instituted by the State Department of Co-operatives have unearthed unprofessional behaviour by a section of leaders and the management of co-operatives that have led to losses of member’s investments.
Co-operative Principal Secretary Ali Noor has revealed this and warned “unscrupulous persons,” who he said have been using the co-operative name to swindle innocent Kenyans out of their hard-earned money.
“Am aware there are many co-operatives that are doing a good job, which is commendable, but there are a few others that are soiling the name of the sector and giving the movement a bad name,” he said.
Noor, who was speaking during a leaders’ conference organized by the Kenya Society of Professional Co-operators (KSPC), urged the organization to manage the problem by ensuring co-operative leaders and staff members act professionally.
“KSPC should revolutionalize the management of co-operatives in the country,” he said.
He noted that the National Co-operative Policy identified the challenge and recommended enforcement of professional and ethical standards in the sector.
KSPC is expected to promote co-operative management as a profession by registering and requiring members to work within established professional and ethical standards, making it an industry-led solution to promote professionalism in the sector.
According to Prof Esther Gicheru, KSPC Chairperson, they have so far registered 150 members.
She said PSPC had signed an MOU last year with Kasneb to support it in administering Certified Co-operative Professional (CCOP) examinations.
“This will give KSPC time to develop the required internal capacity. As we speak, we have applied to Kenya National Qualifications Authority to register our three qualifications: CCOP level 1, CCOP level 2, and CCOP level 3. We will commence recruiting students to sit for CCOP exams once we receive the certificates for the registration of the qualifications,” Prof Gacheru said.
The organization is also in the process of accrediting training institutions to train on established qualifications, with the Co-operative University of Kenya having already applied for evaluation.
She said once members are registered, they are issued with a membership certificate and annual practicing licenses.
Kenya Society of Professional Co-operators was registered in 2017 and launched by Agriculture and Co-operatives Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya in 2018.
The organization’s registration was in response to a recommendation by the national co-operative policy that the sector needed an organization to promote professionalism and ethical behavior in the management of co-operatives.
The policy had observed that infiltration by persons without background knowledge on co-operative philosophy has led to a distorting the co-operative identity and has contributed to reported unprofessional behavior cases. The professional objective is to promote co-operative management as a profession by registering, developing, and regulating co-operative professionals
