Department of Cooperatives

Co-operatives Department

Thursday, 16 August 2012 09:23

The Department of Co-operatives is responsible for promoting the formation of co-operatives and strengthening their operations so that they become the main conduits for socio-economic development, income generation and poverty eradication.

Mission Statement

The mission of the Department of Cooperatives is to ensure the development of a sustained and viable agriculture sector through the promotion of a profitable, sustainable and autonomous co-operative movement in the country.

Objectives

The major objective of the Department is to promote the development of a profitable, sustainable and autonomous co-operative movement in the country that will contribute to increased income and food security for its members. Its specific Objectives are to:

Strengthen institutional capacity of co-operatives.
Ensure that quality and relevant agricultural training is provided through curriculum reform and development of teaching resources.
Institute a mechanism for monitoring and evaluating cooperatives.

Structural Organization and Functions

The Department of Cooperatives is headed by a Director. In order to ensure effective operations of the Department, it is structured into two sections namely the Registration and Regulation Section and the Cooperative Development and Promotion Section.

Registration and Regulation Section

This section is responsible for regulatory functions which encompass registration of new cooperative societies, deregistration of those not complying with the relevant rules and regulations, liquidation of insolvent cooperative societies as well as carrying out routine monitoring, inspections and audits of the societies’ activities and operations. The section is responsible for acting as an ombudsman when disputes occur by carrying out all necessary investigations and taking the necessary remedial action. The section is headed by a Registrar of Cooperatives who reports to the Director.

Cooperative Development and Promotion Section

The Section is responsible for spearheading the promotion and development of cooperative societies throughout the country so as to enhance the agricultural sector’s productivity and production. It is responsible for provision of education and training to cooperative members, Departmental staff and all other stakeholders in order to build capacities in cooperative skills and management. The Section is headed by a Chief Cooperative Officer reporting to the Director.

The main functions of the Department of Cooperatives Development are as follows:-

Promoting the development of cooperatives in order to improve productivity and production in the Agricultural Sector;
Enhancing Cooperatives business development among small-scale operators in the various sectors of the economy;
formation and registration of co-operative societies;
Monitoring, auditing and inspection of cooperative societies;
Arbitrating disputes among cooperatives as well as between cooperatives and other parties;
Providing cooperative education and training to cooperative members, staff of the Division and the general public; and
Enforcing the provisions of the Cooperative Societies Act.

Last Updated on Thursday, 16 August 2012 10:08

Cooperative Performance

Here you will find Cooperatives performance records from across all sectors and several products.

Information coming soon.

Cooperatives

Classification of Cooperatives

Co-operative can be classified either by sector / industry on one hand or by the activities the co-operative society is involved in.

A co-operative which is involved in only one type of business activity is called single purpose co-operative. A cooperative, which is involved in more than one is called multipurpose co-operative.

Based on the activities they are involved in, examples of types of cooperatives include:

Agriculture Co-operatives: Supply of agriculture inputs and related services to farmers. The inputs may include fertilizers, seed, equipment and pesticides.
Marketing Co-operatives: Market produce on behalf of the members. The commodities marketed may include maize, beans, livestock products e.t.c.
Housing Co-operatives: Build houses, which members can purchase. Some of the houses built may be sold to non-members and the money ploughed back into the cooperative.
Mining co-operatives: are involved in the extraction and sale of minerals. These may be at different levels of capital investment.
Forestry co-operatives: are those that are invloved in timber business or honey processing and using resources from the forests.
Saving and Credit Co-operatives; are those that are financial in nature and mobilize savings from members which they in turn lend to the members who pay back interest.

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