Kisii County Commissioner of Co-operatives Vincent Kenyariri has challenged delegates of the giant Gusii Coffee Farmers Co-operative Union to follow the co-operatives law when disposing off members assets to offset debts the union owes its external creditors.
Kenyariri warned that his office will not approve sale of any union property including land, if the delegates who constitute the union's supreme decision making organ will not follow due process.
Addressing the delegates on Thursday afternoon during the union's annual delegates meeting at the union's boardroom, the commissioner also challenged the management to conduct valuation of all the union's assets to determine their value before disposing them off and ensure members get value for money from the said assets.
Kenyariri was responding to the delegates resolution that the union's plot in Kisii town's Industrial Area be disposed off to facilitate the offsetting of some of the union's debts and have part of the funds channelled to its affiliate primary co-operative societies to finance their society general expenses.
He reminded them that it was not the role of the annual delegates meeting to decide on the sale of the plot, but it was the mandate of the Special Delegates Meeting to resolve on the same.
"I agree with your resolution to have the union's plot at the Kisii town's Industrial area disposed off to facilitate the union offset its debts,but unfortunately this is a wrong forum to deliberate on the issue. It is the Special Delegates Meeting which is mandated in law to pass such resolution and even if you unanimously pass that resolution today it must follow the due process of the law," stated Kenyariri.