Africa-Press – Tanzania. PRIME Minister Kassim Majaliwa has directed Ministry of Agriculture to address various challenges affecting the development of cooperatives in the country to enhance their sus-tainability.
The Premier ordered the ministry to ensure that it builds cooperatives capacity to operate competitively and strengthen ways of finding markets for their produce.
Mr Majaliwa made the remark yesterday at the climax of the International Day of Cooperatives held at national level in Tabora region.
He said cooperative is an organ which builds trust to farmers and cooperative members because the government has been directing efforts to ensure that cooperatives are beneficial.
“I am aware that cooperative is an important instrument which unite farmers, pastoralists and fishermen and empower them so that they can address their social and economic challenges,” he said.
He said the ministry is required to strengthen management and control of cooperatives and empower them so that they can oversee formal market systems, including warehouse receipt system.
The PM noted that it was also important to strengthen training on cooperatives to members, leaders and executives so that they can have clear understanding of the entire concept of cooperatives, basis, principles and procedures.
The PM further directed the Co-operative Audit and Supervision Corporation (COASCO) to change the audit system and provide proper information to farmers.
He said that in 2020/2021 financial year, the government through Tanzania Cooperatives Development Commission conducted internal audit to 4,494 cooperatives out of 9,185.
He also directed all registrars to ensure that each cooperative in their respective areas establish a data base of its members so that they can make estimation of their needs, including seeds, fertilizers and pesticides.
On his part, Minister for Agriculture, Prof Adolf Mkenda commended the PM for his efforts to revive and promote development of cooperatives in the country.
“Through your efforts, you have helped us to restore trust to members that their properties are safe under cooperatives,” he said.
Commenting on this year’s Cooperatives Day, Tanzania Federation of Cooperatives (TFC) Executive Secretary, Mr Florian Haule said that the celebrations are guided by the theme “We Rebuild Together”, which means that cooperative societies have a chance to unite and rebuild together, even at the moment when the world is facing the challenge of Coronavirus pandemic.
He said this year’s celebrations have been accompanied by various activities, among others exhibitions of products and services by members and other stakeholders, blood donation, tree planting and donation of various items to health facilities.
He explained that the event is an annual celebration of the cooperative movement that has been taking place on the first Saturday of July since 1923.
Mr Haule said in Tanzania the celebrations will be marked for the 20th time since the cooperative members started to mark the day at national level in 2002.
For United Nations, it will be marked for the 27th time, while for International Cooperative Alliance it will be marked for the 99th time this year.
The aim of this celebration is to increase awareness of cooperatives. The event underscores the contributions of the cooperative movement in resolving major problems addressed by the United Nations and strengthening and extending the partnerships between the international cooperative movement and other actors.
