A Bill that will repeal the 27-year old Co-operatives Act Cap 490has been published and is set to go before Parliament and the Senate for debate and approval.
The Co-operatives Bill 2024, sponsored by Kimani Ichung’wah Leader of the Majority Party in Parliament, has already been received by the Directorate of Legal Services of the National Assembly.
The Principal objective of this Bill is to provide the legal framework that will enable the co-operatives sector to transform into a devolved function as envisaged in the new constitution.
In particular, the Bill provides for transitional provisions which include repeal of the Co-operative Society Act 12 of 1997, the creation of the new offices of the Commissioner, County Director for Co-operatives, members of the Co-operative Tribunal, and County Assembly legislations.
While County Governments have been instituting their legislation to guide the regulation and registration of co-operative societies, the Bill now provides guidelines on this matter, creating a new office of Commissioner for Co-operative Development at the national level and office of the county director for co-operatives at the county government level and provides for inter-government co-operative relations.
The Bill delegates to the Cabinet Secretary for Co-operatives and MSMEs development and the County Executive Committee members, the power to make regulations necessary to operationalize the new law and better carry out its objectives.
The Bill is divided into several sections, including the structure of co-operatives in Kenya, registration of co-operatives, rights and liabilities of members, duties of co-operatives, settlement of disputes, general provisions, and transitional provisions.
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