Uasin Gishu County Cooperatives and Enterprise Development CeC Esther Mutai [Photo/ AmThatGirl]
The County Government of Uasin Gishu is targeting to lend up to half a billion shillings to cooperatives movement.The governor Jackson Mandago-led administration has established a County Cooperatives and Enterprise Development Fund, a revolving financial scheme that gives out loans to cooperatives across the County.Speaking during a cooperatives meeting at the County Hall in Eldoret on Friday, Esther Mutai, the county executive for Cooperatives and Enterprise Development confirmed the County's plan to increase allocation for the fund."The governor is passionate about the cooperatives movement, it is for this reason that his government continues to increase loans to cooperatives," said the CeC."The county has been steadily increasing money to the fund each year, having loaned Sh55 million in 2015/16. Already, Sh49 million has been loaned out in 2017," she added.The Cooperatives County Executive further said in a move aimed to manage and ensure expansion of the fund, the county government will set up an audit team that will be checking through the cooperatives' books.This follows unsteady repayments of borrowing that were realized in the past financial years.