Day: September 24, 2024

The Ministry of Co-operatives and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Development has mobilised Sh 60 billion from donor funds to support MSMEs.

Co-operatives and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Development Cabinet Secretary Wycliffe Oparanya announced that the Ministry has refurbished 21 Constituency Industrial Development Centres which has consequently led to the creation of about 5,600 groups.

Oparanya who was speaking at a press briefing held on Monday at the NSSF building, mentioned that through the financial inclusion fund (Hustler Fund), the ministry has managed to lend out Sh57 billion to 22 million Kenyans.

‘So far, 2 million people have graduated from the Hustler Fund. These are people who have consistently borrowed money from the time the fund was initiated and now they are moving to the Small and Medium Enterprise category,’ said the CS.

He announced that within the hustler fund mandatory savings of 5percent, the ministry has generated Sh 3.5 billion as of June 30, 2024.

Regarding coffee, Oparanya stated that under the coffee sector, the ministry has advanced farmers Sh4.5 billion through reforms undertaken by the Deputy President.

The CS further noted that in the dairy sector under the new Kenya Cooperative Creameries, the ministry has guaranteed farmers a payment of Sh50 per litre of milk from the initial Sh 37.

‘We have agreed that a farmer will be paid half the money immediately he or she delivers the milk either through cooperatives or directly and the rest of the money will be paid as soon as the milk is processed,’ he said.

In his remarks, the Deputy Chief of Staff, Performance and Delivery Management Eliud Owalo stated that his office and the office of the Ministry of Cooperatives have agreed on several commitments that need to be achieved within the current financial year.

He singled out the promotion of the Kenyan coffee as one the ministry’s commitment to endorsing coffee varieties in the local and international market through trade fairs.

Owalo noted that coffee is currently facing the challenge of debts and revealed that upon verification of the debts, the ministry will waive the debts to a tune of about Sh 2 billion which has been accommodated within the budget for the financial year of 2024 to 2025.

To address the issue of weak governance, he mentioned that the ministry will strengthen the governance framework through the dissemination of the code of conduct to various cooperative societies.

‘The Ministry will undertake the training of cooperative officials on issues of ethics and governance and we will work with relevant agencies like the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission,’ he added.

The Deputy Chief of Staff urged all stakeholders to create an enabling environment for MSMEs through the development of the financial inclusion policy to promote funding of such enterprises.

The Deputy Chief of Staff, Performance and Delivery Management in partnership with the Ministry of Co-operatives and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development is committed to boost the economy of the country in various sectors.

Source: Kenya News Agency

The government will enhance the Hustler Fund and introduce a new product targeted at those who constantly borrow and repay promptly without exceeding the repayment period.

Ministry of Co-operatives and MSME’S Development Cabinet Secretary CS Wycliffe Oparanya said that they will introduce a new product that is the Savings-Loan Portfolio for the two million Kenyans who have been borrowing and repaying consistently from the Hustler Fund and from this new product the borrowers will be able to progress to the commercial banks and borrow bigger amounts.

‘There are two million Kenyans who repeatedly borrow from the fund on a daily basis and these are the ones benefiting from the essence of this fund which is focused on ensuring that Kenyans at the bottom of the pyramid who did not have access to financing can be able to borrow and establish or grow their small businesses,’ said the CS.

He explained that once the borrowers grow their business they can access bigger funding from government institutions including the Kenya Industrial Estates which gives loans of up to Sh20 million at 10% interest rate, the Kenya Development Corporation (KDC), The Agricultural Finance Corporation (AFC) among others.

Speaking on Tuesday during the official rebranding of the Safaricom Investment Co-operative’s into the SIC-Investment Co-operative, Oparanya explained that the Hustler Fund has disbursed Sh57 billion to 22 million Kenyans and out of that Sh44 billion has been repaid with around 13 billion yet to be repaid.

The CS highlighted that in consultation with the service provider they are coming up with other innovations to make sure that those who have borrowed the money repay it so that other Kenyans can also benefit from the same fund.

Oparanya said that when they realized that people were struggling to repay the minimum amount of Sh500 they reduced it to the current Sh100.

‘This year the government has provided Sh3 billion to be invested into the Hustler Fund,’ Oparanya said.

The CS explained that co-operative societies play very important roles in produce aggregation, primary processing, transport, marketing, savings mobilization, and financial inclusion; with a remarkable track record in all sectors of our economy.

‘As per the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) and Cooperative Alliance of Kenya (CAK), there are approximately three million cooperatives in the world, with Kenya having over 25,000 registered cooperatives that have a membership of over 14 million people. Cooperatives, in general, contribute approximately 30 percent of Kenya’s annual savings, while generating employment opportunities for over 500,000 people directly and over two million indirectly,’ explained Oparanya.

He added that the government of Kenya recognizes the co-operative sector as a critical player in pursuit of Kenya’s socio economic growth, equity, and sustainable development. As such, cooperative societies have been identified and prioritized as key enablers of the financial inclusion aspiration of the government as envisioned in the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA).

State Department for Co-operatives Principal Secretary Patrick Kilemi said that in the past Kenyans investing in real estate and land have suffered in the hands of rogue institutions like Mboi Kamiti but Safaricom Investment Cooperative has changed this by delivering property worth Sh10 billion to its members.

Kilemi said that since independence the banking sector has delivered 30, 000 housing mortgages compared to Sacco’s which according to records released from the Sacco Societies Regulatory Authority (SASRA) have assets worth over Sh1 trillion with about 50 percent of what people borrow going into buying land and building houses.

‘I would like to appeal to SIC Investment Co-operative to invest in the affordable housing segment to complement the government’s efforts in solving the housing challenges facing the country,’ said Kilemi.

He explained that in the Co-operatives Bill 2024 which is currently in parliament they are proposing clear demarcation between Sacco’s, Transport cooperatives and Investment cooperatives.

Safaricom Investment Cooperative CEO Churchill Winstones said that the re-brand process entailed market, audience, and stakeholder engagement, which was aimed at achieving an efficient and solution-oriented client experience, as the Society strives to align with the ever-evolving market trends shaping the current investment space.

‘We understand that client choices constantly keep changing and evolving, driven by shifts around the world, technological advancements, and global events leading to a change in consumer behaviour,’ said Winstones.

‘By rebranding, we strive to ensure that our Society aligns with the evolving business landscape and that our brand image resonates with the values and expectations of our target audiences. We remain committed to providing superior returns to our investors and growth opportunities to our staff, and we will not relent on our determination to invest sustainably,’ he added.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Kenyan Experts in the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) area and others drawn from Africa will next week converge in Nairobi for a forum to explore ways of scaling up of its uptake in the Continent.

The four-day forum that has attracted 32 participants from 20 African countries and four (4) economic regions, including 20 representatives from higher learning institutions in Kenya will examine RPL in lifelong learning policies, theories underpinning RPL, how to do RPL, Quality assurance of RPL, RPL process, step-by-step and implementation of RPL in Kenya, its policies and practice.

The official opening of the forum that will run from October 1 to 4, will be presided over by Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos Ogamba.

Already Kenya is implementing the recognition of prior learning policy across various institutions following its launch in March this year by the government.

In a press statement sent to news rooms, implementation of RPL in Kenya is being actualised through the ‘Whole of Government Appr
oach’ where all relevant players are working collaboratively to enhance its effectiveness.

Through a National Framework of Engagement, the Kenya National Qualifications Authority (KNQA) coordinates implementation of the policy through awareness creation, sensitization and organizing capacity building forums.

The national rollout of RPL is a timely conduit towards realising the Kenya Kwanza Government Affordable Housing Programme (AHP) with a view to increasing the supply of housing units from the current 2 percent to 50 percent, translating to 250,000 for next five years from the current 50,000 units per year.

Additionally, the AHP is also expected to create over 500,000 new employment opportunities for young people graduating from the TVETs in the next five years, directly into the construction sector and indirectly through production of building products.

The initiative will further strengthen the Jua-kali industry’s capacity to produce high quality construction products and through RPL, artisans with u
ncertified skills and competencies will have an opportunity to be assessed and certified, thus, take advantage of employment opportunities such as those that will be available through the AHP. RPL is therefore poised to be a revolutionary approach aimed at dignifying the Jua Kali workforce.

This policy seeks to formalize informal skills, transforming them into recognized qualifications and opening up both local and international employment opportunities for artisans.

This strategic focus will create pathways to employment, empowering millions of Kenyans while enhancing economic development through skills recognition and opportunities.

Further, the RPL policy aims to ensure recognition of knowledge, skills, and competencies that have been acquired through practical work through the award of certificates.

The implementation of the policy is a bridge to facilitate transition from informality to formality as well as facilitating multi entry/exit between the education system and the labour market.

According t
o KNQA Director General (DG) Dr Alice Kande, the policy and guidelines provides standards of assessing and certifying the skills and competencies acquired through experience.

‘This enables our skilled, but uncertified youths to be awarded certificates based on individual competencies expanding their opportunities in employment and advanced learning,” said the DG adding that so far 900 graduates have been certified and targets about 10,000 new graduates yearly.

Kenya’s education and training sector is regarded as one of the best in Africa as it is evidenced by the fact that Kenya has led in developing and implementing policies, standards and procedures for the management of accreditation of institutions, qualifications and quality assurance on the continent.

This framework brings together Basic Education (BE), Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET), University Education (UE), industrial training and lifelong learning to enable better coordination and harmonization of qualifications across the v
arious sectors.

KNQA prides itself in creating an enabling environment for lifelong learning, fostering quality of qualifications, and creating international recognition and comparability of qualification systems

In addition, the African Union and the European Training Foundation (ETF) are implementing the African Continental Qualifications Framework (ACQF-II) project to support the implementation of ACQF as a continental policy instrument.

The project aims to contribute to transparency, comparability and recognition of qualifications, collaboration between National Qualifications Frameworks and promotion of lifelong learning in Africa.

It also supports referencing of National Qualifications Frameworks to African Continental Qualifications Framework; develops and operationalizes innovative tools such as the qualifications and credentials platforms, the RPL campaign, and skills data focus (labour market intelligence tools) through training, dialogue and peer-to-peer sharing forums.

The Kenya National Qual
ifications Framework (KNQF) on the other hand provides for articulation of the various levels of qualifications, and clear progression pathways for the various forms of certification, including RPL.

KNQF is a comprehensive system that organizes all forms of learning, formal, non-formal, and informal, across educational and training sectors and the distinct KNQF levels are defined by level descriptors covering knowledge, skills, and competencies.

Also, the KNQF encompasses three sub-frameworks: Academic, TVET, and Industry. Qualifications are placed within a level by mapping their learning outcomes against the level descriptors and primarily aims to enhance access, equity, quality, and relevance in education and training throughout Kenya.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Diamond Trust Bank (DTB) has partnered with the Kenya Red Cross Bungoma to launch a program focused on making reusable sanitary towels.

Speaking during the official inauguration of the program at St Teresa Asio girls Secondary School in Bungoma County, Deputy governor Jennifer Mbatiany said that the initiative equipped 50 volunteers and 12 Community Health Promoters with practical skills to enhance Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM).

Mbatiany said the training established a Trainer of Trainers (TOT) model.

She noted that that she will ensure the participants lead future community and school’s sessions, thus promoting the widespread adoption of reusable pads.

The deputy governor further noted that the program is also aimed at raising awareness about menstrual hygiene, challenging the social taboos that often accompany discussion on Menstruation.

She applauded the effort by the stakeholders noting that statistics indicate that there is reduction in teenage pregnancy and improve health for young women in the community.

Mbatiany said that the initiative represents a significant step forward in empowering communities and fostering better menstrual health.

She noted that the program is majorly targeting vulnerable communities more so Mt. Elgon Sub county and communities living along and in Mt Elgon Forest.

Adding that the proximity of the shopping centre for the girls to buy sanitary pads if far hence they need a solution.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Siaya church leaders are calling on President William Ruto and his Deputy, Rigathi Gachagua to engage each other and cool down the rising political temperature that risks dividing the country.

Through the Siaya county church leaders’ forum, the religious leaders are lamenting that the verbal exchange between deputy president and alleged associates of the president were making Kenyans question the two leaders’ faith in Christianity that they used to secure their current positions.

Speaking in Siaya town today after the meeting, the leaders, led by their chairman, archbishop James Opiyo Anyango called on politicians across the political divide to engage on talks that can unify the country.

Archbishop Opiyo called on Deputy President to respect the President and seek for a private meeting with him to address issues that he thinks are not going right.

The organizing secretary of the forum, bishop Wilfred Amollo said that as Christians, the two should be in the fore front of championing dialogue.

‘We would w
ant the two to come together and dialogue in a peaceful environment’ said bishop Amollo who lamented that the country was witnessing too much politicking yet elections were three years away.

A member of the forum, Bishop Martin Arara said what was happening now was a clear manifestation that the unity that the duo portrayed while seeking Kenyans’ votes during the last general election was built on deceit.

‘It was not genuine and that is why they find it difficult to work together,’ said bishop Arara adding ‘what is happening is a clear manifestation that these two leaders were cheating us. They are not genuine Christians and should go back to the church and receive Christ afresh’.

Bishop Arara told the president and his deputy to stop using church forums to propagate their differences, adding that this was hurting both the church and Christians.

He called on church leaders to stop giving politicians platforms to spew messages that leave the country divided.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Police in Narok town have arrested three people in connection with the murder of a 38-year-old man, who was killed and his body dumped along the Muslim graveyard road last week.

Narok County Police Commander Riko Ngare said the three namely: Daniel Tarongei, 26, Nicholas Otieno Omolo, 33 and Melie Sankok are being held at the Narok Police Station to assist in the investigations.

The recent killing had raised an outcry among the Narok residents who decried increased insecurity in town and its environs as barely a week ends without a murder case being reported in the area.

Nevertheless, with the latest arrests, the residents are optimistic that police will bring to book all those involved in criminal activities in the town.

Booster Kisio, a youth leader called on the police to intensify patrols in all parts of the town saying the killers mainly targeted young people.

At the same time, police at Sekenani area in Narok West Sub County have launched a manhunt to arrest a man suspected to have murdered his gi
rlfriend last night.

According to the police report, the body of the 31-year-old female was found lying in a nearby bush by a young boy who had gone to relieve himself.

‘The boy alerted men working at a construction site, who positively identified the body as that of Mercy Chepkirui, whom they all knew as the girlfriend to one of their colleagues by the name Joseph Gitau,’ said Ngare.

The construction site watchman confirmed that the couple had been seen together at the construction site in the evening hours.

The body of Chepkirui had a deep cut on the neck and was moved to Narok County Referral hospital morgue for preservation awaiting autopsy.

In another murder incident, police at Mulot police station in Narok county are holding a man who surrendered himself to the station and confessed to have killed his wife on suspicion of infidelity.

The police visited the homestead and found the body of Naropil Moijoi, 30, dumped in a bush next to the suspect’s home, with a deep cut on the neck.

The officers als
o recovered a blood-stained panga, next to the deceased, that is suspected to have been used to kill the deceased.

The body was moved to Longisa morgue in Bomet county awaiting autopsy.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Hundreds of creative artists and filmmakers across Embu County on Monday benefited from a free training on production of clean content by Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB).

The one-day training dubbed Creative in Arts and Film Literacy (CAFiL) Forum is geared towards promotion of content that upholds Kenya’s cultural values and protects children from inappropriate audiovisual content.

The Embu forum was the third after Kisumu and Nakuru in a series of engagements with artists and filmmakers lined up across the country according to KFCB Ag Chief Manager Corporate Services Nelly Muluka.

Ms Muluka said the initiative aligns with the fifth pillar of Bottom-up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), Talanta Hela Initiative as well as Vision 2030 which recognise creative arts as a driver for youth empowerment.

She said they are also using the forums to discuss challenges and opportunities available in the creative arts economy to spur growth, while affirming their commitment in creating a conducive environ
ment for the growth of the film industry.

‘It is not in doubt that the creative economy is one of the spaces that, if well utilised, can create opportunities of harnessing job prospects,’ Ms Muluka said, noting that the richest people globally are in the creative industry.

She noted that the biggest chunk of the country’s population constitutes the youth majority of whom are digital-savvy and if equipped with this information, can easily monetise their creativity.

Ms Muluka said they are also equipping them with the Regulator’s Handbook for Film Practitioners that will, besides creating a facilitative framework, give them knowledge on other opportunities available within the government they may not be aware of.

‘Our objective is to create enough awareness to enable businesses of digital content creators, artists and filmmakers to move to the next level,’ she said.

KFCB Head of Legal Department Loice Shalakha reported that they have formulated four news regulations with the key one being Self-Classificati
on Regulation that allows Video-on- Demand (ODD), Over-The-Top (OTT) and broadcasters to self-classify the content.

She said their role will be to monitor compliance of the content with the regulation once enacted into law that will relieve them of the burden of having all the content coming to them for classification.

Additionally, Ms Shalakha said they are benchmarking with other countries on harmonisation of classification guidelines to ensure content coming in from other countries or going out don’t have to be classified again.

‘We’ve benchmarked with several countries and we are getting the best practice that we can incorporate in our law to ensure there is efficiency and effectiveness in regulation of the film industry,’ she said.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Kenya and Uganda delegations today begun a three-day meeting in Nairobi to deliberate on peace, security, and development along their common border.

The meeting will, among other issues, consider and review the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two sister nations regarding the cross-border programme for sustainable peace and development that focused on the Karamoja, Turkana, and West Pokot common border areas.

Among issues under discussion will be the cessation of hostilities between neighbouring communities, the elimination of the illegal flow of arms and ammunition, and the empowerment of local and county governments, to prevent conflicts and promote sustainable peace.

Others are peacebuilding, community resilience, conflict management and resolution, cross-border trade and investment, and the elimination of harmful practices, including Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).

The MoU under review also covers improvement of livelihoods, food security, and basic social services; improving infrastruc
ture; free movement of people, livestock, and commodities, among others cross-border security and development issues.

Further, the three-day meeting will also discuss the right to access shared resources between border communities of the Turkana and Pokot of Kenya and the Karamoja and Sebei of Uganda.

Speaking during the opening ceremony, Kenya’s Leader of delegation, Maria Cherono, said the primary goal of the bilateral engagement was to promote peaceful coexistence and improve livelihoods and socio-economic conditions for sustainable peace and development.

‘I believe that our collaboration on this initiative will not only benefit the communities we serve but also strengthen our partnership and contribute to our shared goals of promoting peace and development across borders,’ she said.

Her Ugandan counterpart, Dr. Andrew Musiime, said the discussions would also focus on long-term peace and investments along the border areas.

The meeting will culminate in the signing of agreements by Kenya’s Cabinet Secr
etary for East African Community, ASALs, and Regional Development, Mrs. Beatrice Moe, and Uganda’s First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for East African Community Affairs, Rebecca Kadaga.

Source: Kenya News Agency

A section of youth leaders from Mt. Kenya East have affirmed their support for Interior CS Kithure Kindiki as their spokesperson and link between them and the government.

They said Kindiki was their best bet in advancing the region’s interests given his national stature and track record.

They said their choice for Kindiki and not Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua was as a result of perennial alienation of the region in terms of development that the DP had failed to address since he assumed office.

Led by political lobbyist, Kirangacha Mwaniki, the leaders said the DP had also failed to execute duties delegated to him by the President to champion reforms in tea and coffee industries.

He claimed, instead, Gachagua had diverted attention to propagating divisive politics as farmers continue suffering in the hands of cartels and almost fell short of saying he had joined ranks with them.

Speaking in Embu Town on Tuesday morning, Mwaniki added that the Region had unique challenges given that parts of Embu and
Tharaka Nithi were classified as semi-arid that called for special attention that could only come from someone who identifies with the problems.

Additionally, the leaders accused the DP of abandoning them at the hour of need when there were wrangles involving Muguka trade following the ban instituted by several coastal counties.

‘When we had muguka trade wars, we did not see the DP who claims to be the region’s kingpin come to our rescue,’ said Edwin Karani.

Source: Kenya News Agency

A section of residents in Modogashe, Lagdera constituency, Garissa county are now living in constant fear following attacks by stray elephants and lions that has led to death of one person and three others nursing serious bodily injuries.

Speaking to KNA on phone today, area MP Abdikadir Hussein said that on September 2 a stray elephant trampled on one Khalif Jellow at Togdub sub location who later succumbed to his injuries. During the attack several goats and sheep were also killed.

Hussein said that on September 10 members of the public reported seeing two stray lions within their settlements and grazing fields in Modogashe and Ilan area.

The latest incident that took place on Monday night when two attacked and injured two male adults at Serbi area some three kms from Modogashe town.

Hassan Ibrahim, 29 and Mohamed Ibrahim, 31 who were herding their animals in the fields were attacked by the elephants and nursing serious injuries at the Modogashe sub county hospital.

The stray elephants and lions belie
ved to be coming from the neighboring Meru National park is causing panic and fear among the residents of Modogashe and neighbouring areas.

The legislator said despite call by the local leadership and residents for KWS to drive away the wild animals, nothing has been done.

Hussein said that the most worrying thing was that the attacks were happening within human settlements and grazing fields.

‘Our people are pastoralists by nature and they move far and wide in search of water and pasture for their livestock. Unfortunately, as they are going about their normal lives they encounter these stray wild lives which pose a big threat to their lives and their animals,’ Hussein said. ‘It’s my appeal to KWS to act now so that my constituents can go about their business without fear of being attacked by wild animals,’ he added.

He said that the constituents may resort to defending themselves that may include killing the wild animals.

‘Personally, I would not like us to go there because we have a would department in
charge of wildlife who are supposed to secure the animals in the designated parks and reserves,’ he noted.

He said that KWS should form patrol unit comprising of rangers to wade off wild life trying to cross over from the Meru national park into human settlements and grazing fields.

Source: Kenya News Agency