PANORAMA: Inside the scramble to control SACCOs
By 1970, Cooperatives contributed more than 50 per cent of the country’s GDP. But when the NRM government embraced the Washington consensus and adopted Neo-liberal policies, many Cooperatives collapsed yet they provided the impetus of growth to a largely rural economy. Cooperatives are making a return, anchored on organizational structures and the spirit of entrepreneurship. They could emerge as the saving grace of an economy largely in the hands of multinational firms that expatriate profits to foreign jurisdictions. However, there is a raging fight to control the lucrative arm of Cooperatives, the Savings and Credit Cooperatives Organizations or SACCOs, which are a custodian of billions of shillings