The County Department of Cooperatives on Monday held a consultative meeting with the leadership of Simat Farmers Cooperative Society (FCS) to deliberate on the best operational strategies for reviving the institution.

Chief Officer for Cooperatives and Enterprise Development, Elphas Kesio, hosted officials of the society for discussions on measures the department can implement to facilitate the resumption of full operations.

Simat FCS has, in recent years, experienced a downturn attributed to challenges of operations, which disrupted service delivery.

During the meeting, Mr Kesio urged the society’s leadership to prioritize repayment of the Cooperative Enterprise Development Fund (CEDF) loan to enhance its eligibility for additional financial support. He noted that settling the outstanding facility would position the cooperative to access further funding to revitalize its business activities.

The Chief Officer also underscored the need for sound governance and active member participation, saying cooperatives perform best when members are fully engaged in decision-making processes and take ownership of their institutions.

He encouraged the society to collaborate closely with the Department of Cooperatives to benefit from sustained technical support and regulatory oversight.

Leaders were further advised to benchmark with successful cooperatives within Eldoret City and adopt best practices in governance, financial management and long-term sustainability.

Society representatives, in turn, appealed to the department to convene a broader members’ forum to build capacity on the role of cooperative societies, leadership accountability and strengthening member ownership.

The meeting was attended by Director of Enterprise Kipleting Mengich, Director of Cooperatives Drucilla Cherogony, and Director of Co-operative Audit Samuel Wambugu.