{"id":30723,"date":"2026-07-05T07:50:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-05T04:50:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siaya.go.ke\/siaya\/?p=30723"},"modified":"2026-07-05T07:53:59","modified_gmt":"2026-07-05T04:53:59","slug":"siaya-marks-ushirika-day-with-renewed-call-to-strengthen-cooperative-movement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siaya.go.ke\/siaya\/siaya-marks-ushirika-day-with-renewed-call-to-strengthen-cooperative-movement\/","title":{"rendered":"Siaya Marks Ushirika Day with Renewed Call to Strengthen Cooperative Movement"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Grace Adhiambo<\/strong><\/p>\n

The County Government of Siaya joined cooperators, government officials, development partners and other stakeholders in celebrating the 2026 International Day of Cooperatives (Ushirika Day) at Siaya National Polytechnic, with renewed calls to strengthen the cooperative movement as a key driver of economic growth, social inclusion and community development.<\/p>\n

The event was graced by the County Executive Committee Member (CECM) for Trade, Enterprise, Cooperatives and Industry Hon. Christine Oyuu, who served as the Chief Guest. She was accompanied by the Chief Officer for Trade, Mr. Michael Oliech, alongside directors from the Department of Trade.<\/p>\n

Held under the global theme, \"Cooperatives for a Peaceful World,\" <\/strong>the celebrations highlighted the vital role cooperatives play in promoting unity, fostering social cohesion, empowering communities, creating employment opportunities and improving livelihoods across the county.<\/p>\n

In her keynote address, Hon. Christine Oyuu called on cooperators to embrace unity and work together in harmony, noting that greater achievements can only be realized through collective effort and by uplifting one another. She commended Governor James Orengo for his unwavering support towards the cooperative movement, saying his administration has consistently prioritized the growth and development of cooperatives in Siaya County.<\/p>\n

\"\"The CECM emphasized that cooperatives remain a powerful vehicle for job creation and economic empowerment, playing a critical role in reducing unemployment and improving the livelihoods of thousands of residents. She further noted that cooperatives provide an important platform for extending services and creating awareness among communities on available economic opportunities.<\/p>\n

Hon. Oyuu also revealed that plans are underway to organize casual workers into a cooperative society to be known as Taka SACCO, an initiative aimed at improving their livelihoods through savings, access to affordable credit and collective economic empowerment.<\/p>\n

Speaking during the event, the Chairperson of the Siaya County Cooperative Development Committee noted that cooperatives continue to transform lives by providing members with access to affordable credit, markets, investment opportunities and income-generating ventures. He commended the County Government of Siaya for its unwavering support through policy development, technical guidance, stakeholder engagement and the promotion of cooperative programmes aimed at strengthening the sector.<\/p>\n

He urged cooperators to remain united and committed to cooperative principles, noting that collective action remains the foundation for sustainable economic and social transformation.<\/p>\n

The celebrations culminated in an awards ceremony recognizing outstanding cooperative societies for their exemplary performance and contribution to the growth of the cooperative movement in Siaya County. Top-performing SACCOs and cooperative societies received certificates in recognition of their achievements across various categories.<\/p>\n

Taraji SACCO emerged as one of the biggest winners during the ceremony, receiving the Best Average Savings Mobilizer Award in recognition of its outstanding efforts in mobilizing member savings. The SACCO also clinched the coveted Best Overall Cooperative Society Award, underscoring its excellence in governance, financial performance, member service and overall contribution to cooperative development in Siaya County. Bonista SACCO took second place while Siaya Ufanisi and Credit SACCO finished third.<\/p>\n

\"\"Other cooperatives that participated in the event included Taraji SACCO, Hazina SACCO, Otuoma SACCO, Market Day Traders SACCO, Keystone DT SACCO, Green ARO Regulated Non-WDT, Fish Community SACCO among others.<\/p>\n

The celebrations reaffirmed Siaya County's commitment to strengthening the cooperative movement as a catalyst for inclusive development, poverty reduction and wealth creation, with stakeholders expressing optimism that continued collaboration between the County Government and cooperative societies will unlock greater opportunities for the people of Siaya County.<\/p>\n

Additional Reporting By: Mildred Adhiambo and Daizy Aballa<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Grace Adhiambo The County Government of Siaya joined cooperators, government officials, development partners and other stakeholders in celebrating the 2026 International Day of Cooperatives (Ushirika Day) at Siaya National Polytechnic, with renewed calls to strengthen the cooperative movement as a key driver of economic growth, social inclusion and community development. The event was graced […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":30724,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[95],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30723","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-updates"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/siaya.go.ke\/siaya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30723","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/siaya.go.ke\/siaya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/siaya.go.ke\/siaya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siaya.go.ke\/siaya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siaya.go.ke\/siaya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30723"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/siaya.go.ke\/siaya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30723\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siaya.go.ke\/siaya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30724"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/siaya.go.ke\/siaya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30723"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siaya.go.ke\/siaya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30723"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siaya.go.ke\/siaya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30723"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}