CO-OPERATIVE PRINCIPLES

7 CO-OPERATIVE PRINCIPLES

(a) Voluntary and open membership

The society shall always be guided by the principle of voluntary and open membership in its member recruitment drive without political, ethnic, religious, gender or social discrimination.

(b) Democratic member control

The society will be fully controlled by members who will have equal voting rights on the basis of one member one vote.

(c) Economic participation by member

Members shall contribute equitably to the capital of the society and share in the results of its operations.

(d) Autonomy and independence

The society shall operate on mutually acceptable terms with its stakeholders who will ensure its autonomy and independence.

(e) Education, training and information

The society shall foster reciprocal, on–going education programmes for members, leaders, staff and the community so that they can teach and learn from each other or from the appropriate resource persons in understanding and carrying out their respective roles.

(f) Co-operation among co-operatives

In order to better serve the interests of the members and the community, the society shall actively co-operate with other co-operatives locally, regionally, nationally and internationally.

(g) Concern for community in General

The society shall show concern to the community in which it exists and operates.

CO-OPERATIVE LAWS IN KENYA

The three main sources of co-operative laws applicable to the co-operatives in Kenya are:

• The Co-operative Societies Act (Cap 490 of the Laws of Kenya)
• The Co-operative Societies Rules 2008
• The Sacco Society Act 2008
• The Sacco Societies Regulations
• The registered By-laws of the co-operative society

Other sources include government policies issued from time to time in form of circulars (commissioners circulars) and resolutions passed by members in validly convened and conducted general meetings.

The co-operative Societies Act

This is an Act of Parliament relating to the constitution, registration and regulation of co-operative societies. It is the supreme law relating to the operations of the co-operative societies. Like any other law, the provisions of the Act do not in any way conflict the constitution of Kenya.

The Act is one of the documents that should be available in every co-operative society office and should be thoroughly understood and referred to by the officials from time to time in the conduct of the society business.

The Co-operative Societies Act provides the following areas

• registration of co-operative societies
• privileges of a registered co-operative society
• rights and liabilities of members
• duties of co-operative societies
• amalgamation and division of co-operative societies
• rights and obligations of co-operative societies
• property and funds of co-operative societies
• inquiry and inspections
• surcharge
• dissolution
• settlement of disputes
• offence under the Act, the rules and penalties

The Act has broad provisions and does not specify how certain issues shall be implemented. Section 91 of the Act therefore gives the Minister power to make rules for the better carrying out of provision and purpose of the Act.

The Sacco Society Act, 2008

This Act of Parliament makes provision for the licensing, regulation, supervision and promotion of Sacco societies, to establish the Sacco Society Regulatory Authority and connected purposes. This Act is divided in seven parts as follows:

• preliminary
• the Sacco Societies Regulatory Authority
• licensing of Sacco societies
• regulation Act and supervision of Sacco societies
• the deposit guarantee fund
• miscellaneous
• schedule-conduct of the affair of the board

The Co-operative Societies Rules

The rules are subsidiary legislation made by the Minister. The Minister derives powers to make rules under Section 91 of the Act. The current rules were made and became effective from November  2004. Being subsidiary legislation, the Rules do not conflict with the Act.

The rule is another document that society should keep in the office and should be referred to and used by the society officials from time to time.

Important provisions in the rules

• the procedures and forms used in the registration of co-operatives
• the procedure for making and amending the by-laws of co-operatives
• the procedure for admission of members in the co-operative societies
• the procedure of general meeting of members and powers of members
• the appointment, suspension and removal of committee members
• the formation and maintenance of reserve fund
• the procedure for appeals to the Minister
• the returns to be submitted by the co-operative societies
• the procedure to be followed in liquidation of societies

The Act and the Rules cannot give adequate details on how each individual co-operative society should be internally governed. Internal regulations are made by each society, because not all aspects are the same in all societies. The rules therefore provide for every society to make by-laws to serve as internal regulations (Rule 7).

The registered By-laws of co-operative societies

The By-laws are internal regulations made by each co-operative society to bind and govern its members. The By-laws are only effective if they are registered by the Commissioner for Co-operative Development. Important areas covered in the By-laws include:

• name and postal address of the society
• area of operation and membership common bond
• the objects for which the society is formed
• the purpose for which its funds maybe applied
• the disposal of accumulated funds
• the qualifications for membership, the terms and mode of admission
• the withdrawal and expulsion of members
• the rights, liabilities and obligations of members, including minimum shareholding
• the transfer of shares or interest of members
• the manner of raising funds
• the procedure and quorum of general meetings
• the appointment, suspension and removal of members of the committee
• the duties of the management and supervisory committee
• the period of its financial year
• the authorization of officers to sign documents
• the settlement of disputes
• the condition for issuing of loans

By-laws maybe amended by members in a validly convened and held general  meeting. At least fifteen (15) clear days notice of the proposed amendment must have been given to all members.

Any amendment of the by-laws of a co-operative society shall only be valid if the amendment is registered with the Commissioner of Co-operative Development. When Commissioner registers an amendment of the by-laws of a co-operative society, he issues to the society a copy of the amendment certified by him as evidence that the amendment of the By-laws has been registered. This copy should be kept in the society office for use.

The By-laws of a co-operative society are subordinate to the Act and Rules. They should not contradict any of the above.

Copies of the registered By-laws should be acquired by each member of the society so that they are conversant with each provision there-in. This can be through suitable arrangement with the society officials.

The by-laws binds only members of the respective co-operative society. They bind all members irrespective of when they joined the society. They should therefore be obeyed by all members and be observed by the society officials in the conduct of all business of the society.

Government Policies/Commissioners Circulars 

The government issues policy circulars from time to time. Such circulars are normally issued by the Commissioner for Co-operative Development and are meant to be implemented and their purpose is to assist in the growth and development of the societies, and in the administration of the provisions of the Act and rules.

General Meeting Resolutions

Members do pass resolutions in general meetings. These resolutions, as long as they are passed in validly convened and conducted general meetings and do not contradict any of the By-laws of the society, form part of the society’s internal rules and regulations. Once the resolutions have been passed by the required majority, they bind all members whether they were present or not, and whether they voted in favor of the resolution or not.

Any resolution passed  in a general meeting should have a proposer and a seconder. Where there is division, the issue should be decided by vote and the majority vote is recognized. Resolutions passed in a general meeting should not contravene any provisions in the Act, Rules and the society By-laws. However a special resolutions requires 2/3 majority of the members present and voting at duly convened general meeting.

THE FUNDS OF THE SACCO SOCIETY

Sources of funds consist of:

(i)    An admission fee which may be reviewed from time to time by the General Meeting.

(ii)    A re-admission fee which is payable by individuals who withdraw and reapply for admission and which may be reviewed from time to time by the General Meeting.

(iii)  An unlimited number of shares whose value and minimum amount may be revised from time to time by the General Meeting.

(iv)  Deposits or loans from members and/or non-members.

(v)   Any surplus resulting from operation of the Society.

(vi)  A reserve fund as provided under the Act, and any other reserve approved by the management.

(vii)  Any donations grant or gifts from other bodies, organizations or individuals.

(viii) Deposit Protection Funds.

(ix)  Funds obtained from fines and/or penalties as may be prescribed by the management from time to time as authorised by the Authority.

(x)   Funds obtained from other lawful miscellaneous sources.

(xi)  Income from interest, fees and charges and commissions as authorized.

(xii)  Liabilities, which include deposits from members and borrowings from other sources.

EFFECTIVE INTERNAL CONTROL IN SACCOS

Internal control can be defined as the whole system of controls, financial and otherwise established by the management committee in order to carry on the business of the society in an orderly and efficient manner,

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ensure adherence to management and financial policies, safeguard assets and secure as far as possible the completeness and accuracy of the records.

The individual components of an internal control system are known as controls of "Internal Controls."

Internal control could be enhanced within the organization by:

• Organization structure
• Job description of
• Physical locations of departments or sections
• Information, accounting and documentation
• Authorisation and approval
• Supervision, personnel and general management
• Routine checks, verification and examination
• Scrutiny and physical checks including stock taking
• Control of documents, filing and movement of documents and files
• Vocation and rotation of duties
• Security of assets
• Ensuring efficient and effective discharge of society's goals, vision, mission and objectives

However, Sacco and business organizations need to have continuous application of accounting (records/books). This may include the following:-

• Cash journal/Petty cash journal
• General ledger
• Payment vouchers/Petty cash vouchers
• Receipt book, member statements
• Cheque book, asset register, member register, loan application forms, payroll deduction list
• Invoices, Delivery note, expenditure receipts
• Deposit slips, bank statements
• Cheque counter foils, cheque registers, etc

Other essential financial statements include:-

• Trial balances
• Income/expenditure statements or surplus and loss A/C
• Balance sheet
• Budgets

Why internal Control?

• Minimizes chances of errors and fraud
• Safeguard society's assets
• Boots efficiency in the society towards members services
• Having up-to-date data for managerial decision making
• Control of work and avoid duplication of efforts/duties
• Facilitates efficient statutory audits
• Facilitates identification of inefficiency and outdated policies
• Encourages specialization
• Allow society to grow at a reasonable rate
• Acts a motivator

ELEMENTS OF INTERNAL CONTROL

EMPLOYEES	Hire qualified people with good reference
	Require annual leave
	Bond employees in position of trust
	State conflict of interest policy
CLEAR DELEGATION AND SEPARATION OF DUTIES	Develop organization chart
	Separate record keeping from custody of assets
	Separate authorization from record keeping
	Separate purchasing from receiving
PROPER PROCEDURES FOR PROCESSING OF TRANSACTIONS	Ensure proper authorization of transactions
	Sign cheques only with proper support
	Approve all non-cash entries on returns, discounts and write offs
	Review past due and uncollectable accounts
SUITABLE DOCUMENTS AND ACCOUNTING RECORDS	Pre-number important documents
	Develop comparative financial statements
	Describe accounting methods in manuals or systems
	Prepare budget of anticipated results
CONTROL OVER ASSET RECORDS	Limit access to inventory
	Safeguard all important records
	Deposit cash receipts intact daily
	Keep all voided cheques
INDEPENDENT VERIFICATION OF PERFORMANCE	Reconcile bank statement independently
	Pre-list cash receipts
	Have an annual audit by CPA frim
	Take complete inventory regularly

DETECTION AND PREVENTION OF MISTAKES (General Control Techniques)

TECHNIQUES	REASON FOR TECHNIQUES
CASH DISBURSEMENT
Use only pre-numbered cheques for disbursement	To ensure all cheques are accounted for
Have proper support for cheques	Only pay properly authorised and justified expenditures
Cancel supporting documents when paid	To only pay once for proper expenditures
Cheque signing by management with no access to records/Alter but keep voided cheques	To ensure accounting records accurately reflect cheques written
Mail cheque directly to payee	To ensure that payee and only payee receives disbursement
Use imprest petty cash fund with one custodian	To ensure authority over petty cash and review periodically
CASH RECEIPTS
Use cash register and cheque register daily	To ensure all cash receipts are recorded
Deposit cash receipt intact	To ensure all cash receipts are deposited
Reconcile bank statements monthly	To ensure all cheques are authorised and recorded and receipts deposited
ACCOUNTING RECORDS
Use pre-numbered invoices	To ensure invoices are accounted for
List mail collections compare with journal	To ensure all mail collections are retained by Sacco
Review monthly comparative financial statements reports	Check any unusual revenue, expense or liability amounts
Approve all entries to general journals	To ensure only authorised and proper journal entries are made

INVENTORY CONTROL TECHNIQUES

1. PURCHASING

1. Centralize under responsible staff
2. Attach purchase invoices to cheques for payment
3. Cancel support documents when cheque is paid
4. Supervise all returned purchases
5. Use requisitions to initiate purchases

2. CUSTODY

1. Separate purchasing from receiving
2. Separate receiving from store keeping
3. Take physical inventory regularly
4. Use independent employees for physical inventory
5. Physically control access to inventory

3. RECORD KEEPING

1. Separate record keeping from custody
2. Require all documents to be pre-numbered e.g. ledgers, journals, passbooks, receipts, vouchers, etc
3. Use a perpetual system if possible
4. Compare results of physical inventory to records

DEFALCATION OF CASH

AREA OF DEFALCATION	HOW TO OBTAIN CASH	HOW TO COVER IN ACCOUNTING RECORDS
CASH DISBURSEMENT	-Issues cheques to others-Appropriate the cheques	Create false invoices
		Use invoices twice for supporting cheques
		‘Pad’ the payroll
		Pocket unclaimed wages and dividends
	Issue cheques to yourself	Incorrectly foot the cash disbursement journal
		Increase recorded amount of another cheque
	-Overpay vendor-appropriate refund	Allow asset or expense to remain overstated
PETTY CASH	Remove cash from petty cash fund	Increase amount on vouchers
		Create false vouchers
		Submit vouchers twice
		Allow fund to remain short
CASH RECEIPTS	Take cash from cash sales or receipts	Record no amount
		Record less than was received
	Take cash payment on account receivable	Bill for full amount but record sale at lower amount
		Record cash receipt but manipulate bank reconciliation
		Record cash receipt but incorrectly use the journal
		Do not record cash receipt but create credit memo to write off the amount
		Pocket payment on account which has been written off

SHORT HISTORY OF THE CO-OPERATIVE MOVEMENT IN KENYA

The co-operative movement in Kenya was found in the beginning of 20th Century. Africans were allowed to form co-operative societies in the 1950's when they were permitted to grow cash crops. The attainment of independence in 1963 became the turning point in the movement. It has ever since grown in terms of societies membership and share capital/member deposits.

The firs Kenya co-operative society, Lumbwa Co-operative Society, was formed in 1908 by the European farmers with the main objective of purchasing fertilizer, chemicals, seeds and other farm inputs and then market their produce to take advantage of economies of scale. In 1930, Kenya Farmers Association was registered as a co-operative society to take over the role of supply of farm input played by Lumbwa Co-operative Society. The African smallholder farmers fought for formation of their own co-operatives and later in 1950's they were allowed to promote and register co-operatives for cash crops like coffee and pyrethrum. Consequently at independence in 1963, there were 1,030 co-operatives societies with 655 being active with a total membership of 355,000.