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The government has announced sweeping reforms targeting cooperative societies and ginneries in a renewed effort to resuscitate Kenya’s ailing cotton industry.
Principal Secretary for Cooperatives, Patrick Kilemi, revealed that the Cooperative Bill 2024, which is currently in the Senate, seeks to eliminate corruption, mismanagement, and rogue cartels that have long plagued the sector.
Speaking from his office, PS Kilemi emphasised that the new law will streamline operations within cooperative societies by setting term limits for officials and weeding out “briefcase” individuals masquerading as cooperative leaders. He noted that many ginneries and cooperatives collapsed due to mismanagement, leading to farmers abandoning cotton farming altogether.
“The days of cartels and corrupt officials are numbered. The Cooperative Bill 2024 will bring long-awaited sanity and order into the cotton value chain,” said Kilemi.
His remarks come amid rising concerns from farmers across cotton-growing zones like Lamu, Busia, and Siaya, where government-distributed cotton seeds are reportedly being sold at exorbitant prices by corrupt cooperative officials. Farmers have demanded urgent government intervention to curb such practices.
In response, the government has allocated Ksh 1.5 billion for the construction of five new ginneries in key cotton-producing regions. One such facility is already under development in Mpeketoni, Lamu, Kenya’s top cotton-producing county, through a partnership between the government and Thika Cloth Mills.
Another ginnery is under construction in Vapi, Coast region, aimed at reducing the logistical burden of transporting cotton over long distances.
The PS acknowledged President William Ruto’s commitment to revitalising the cotton sector, which was devastated by the influx of second-hand clothing (mitumba), leading to the shutdown of many local textile industries.
Farmers welcomed the bill, calling it a long-overdue solution. “We need empowered cooperatives with close state supervision,” said Simon Ondolo from Busia. Lucy Kimani, a farmer from Lamu, echoed the same sentiments, urging the government to support cooperative renewal efforts. “With the new legislation, government investment, and private sector collaboration, the cotton industry appears set for a long-awaited comeback”. said the farmers.
In Busia, the Nambale Ginnery—once a thriving processing centre—has been turned into a church after previous officials allegedly sold its machines as scrap. New cooperative leaders are now appealing for government support to revive it.
Cotton industry experts like Hesbon Olwenyi of Thika Cloth Mills and Jack Onyango of Genutrace Company praised the government’s intervention, noting that a robust cotton sector would boost exports, create jobs, and open up new markets in the Commonwealth.
“This revival is long overdue. Kenya has massive potential in cotton exports and value chain development. What we need now is unity among all stakeholders,” said Onyango.
