Building the Resilience of Kenya’s Cooperative Sector through Capacity Building of Policymakers and Implementers

By Olga Oyier & Maureen Gitau, USAID/CLEAR Program

Kenya’s devolved system of governance has provided the country with an opportunity to implement grassroots-led development programs but also revealed technical gaps at the county government level, particularly in the area of public policy formulation and implementation. More specifically, the cooperatives policy and legislative reform process to align with the provisions of the Constitution of Kenya 2010 has been slower than other devolved sectors, despite efforts by development partners to support this process. Although cooperatives have found a way to navigate the regulatory barriers and continue their operations, the need for a more harmonized approach to policy reforms is crucial to minimizing disruptions for the businesses.

Following consultations with relevant government institutions, Global Communities’ Cooperative Development Program – Cooperative Leadership Engagement Advocacy and Research (CLEAR), funded by USAID — developed a baseline survey to determine technical gaps that existed and to establish demand for the program’s intervention within its mandate. The survey sought to better understand the status and levels of policy formulation skills as well as the county officer role in creating a business environment where cooperatives can thrive.

A total of 33 counties participated in the survey and findings revealed a significant gap in stakeholder engagement, policy development and drafting skills. Survey results also led to the development of the Executive Public Policy Making Process (PPMP) training, in collaboration with Strathmore University Business School, to enhance the capacity of public policymakers and implementers in Kenya, especially those working in the cooperative sector.

County cooperative officers have shown tremendous enthusiasm in their participation in the virtual PPMP training. Despite internet connectivity challenges and competing priorities, 85% of the participants, on average, have reported increased understanding of the requirements of the devolved cooperative function as outlined in the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010.

Recognizing that the public policy process is not linear, the overall objective of the training is to build the capacity of county government officials and provide them with requisite skills to develop inclusive and enabling cooperative policies and legislation. Doing so also equips them to serve as trainers of trainers who can educate cooperative members on their right to actively participate in the policy process.

Cooperative members’ participation in the policymaking process supports the cooperative sector as a vehicle of resilience, especially through the COVID-19 pandemic, because members can contribute to the formulation of inclusive and sustainable policies that affect their businesses. This also presents an opportunity for cooperatives to be enlightened on regulations that sometimes unintentionally limit the development and growth of their businesses and, in turn, document their concerns to the local authority in an organized fashion. This is anchored on a robust public-private dialogue structure at national and county government levels.

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