Africa-Press – Mauritius. The International Day of Cooperatives 2021, on the theme “Rebuild better together”, was celebrated on 3rd July 2021 by the Ministry of Industrial Development, SMEs and Cooperatives at the National Cooperative College, Terre Rouge, in the presence of the Vice President of the Republic of Mauritius, Mr.
Eddy Boissezon, and the Minister of Industrial Development, SMEs and Cooperatives, Mr. Soomilduth Bholah. In his address, the Vice President of the Republic of Mauritius, Mr.
Eddy Boissezon, highlighted that as we celebrate the International Day of Cooperatives, the spotlight must be geared on the cooperative business model and how cooperative businesses are able to use their power to build a better living for all.
In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, he further called for the cooperative sector to revamp and constantly reposition itself so that it can keep pace with the challenges of the competitive business environment and thus make itself modern, efficient and effective.
The Vice President expressed his confidence that the cooperative movement will help communities become stronger in the post-pandemic world with their values and principles while at the same guiding the transition towards not only a new normal but a better normal with a better economy, he added.
With the high demand in agricultural products along with the prices on the market, he further pointed out that it is a good incentive to commercialise through cooperatives.
Marketing through cooperatives will make a wider range of agricultural products available to the public at attractive prices for the benefit of both cooperatives and the public, he added. For his part, the Minister of Industrial Development, SMEs and Cooperatives, Mr.
Soomilduth Bholah, emphasised the importance of celebrating the International Day of Cooperatives, which he said, is aimed at raising public awareness on the crucial role of cooperatives in socio-economic development and also to pay tribute to all those who have worked for the advancement of the cooperative movement across the world.
Minister Bholah further recalled that cooperative societies have existed for 108 years in Mauritius, with the first company registered in the sugar sector in 1913.
The objective, he stated, was to bring the growers together to have better access to finance. He also pointed out that at date, the country counts around 900 active cooperative societies in different sectors of the economy.
In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Minister called for cooperative societies to reinvent themselves so as to revive the economy and help in creating jobs in addition to fighting against poverty and contributing to food security.
Hence, he stressed the preponderant role of cooperatives and urged them to adapt to the new normal by identifying opportunities and taking advantage of support schemes put in place by the government and other institutions.
Minister Bholah also elaborated on some of the new projects in the pipeline for the cooperatives sector namely: launch of a “Cooperatives Common Facility Centre” in St Pierre with several facilities for co-operators; production of solar energy; courses and workshops on recycling; renovation of “Maison des Pêcheurs” in Tamarin; and Cooperative Tailor Shops for women’s cooperatives.
He concluded by reiterating his optimism about the future of cooperatives which, he added, will always be well anchored in the development of the country.
