Cooperative representatives from all corners of the country will convene in Kigali today to celebrate the annual International Cooperative Day (ICD) under the theme “Choose co-operative, choose equality.”
Representatives of cooperative from all parts of the country have today convened in Kigali to celebrate the International Cooperative Day (ICD), which will be marked under the theme "Choose co-operative, choose equality.”
The ICD is usually marked on the first Saturday of July but in Rwanda, this day was put off until today as it had coincided with the Liberation Day celebrations on July 4, according to Damien Mugabo, the Director-General of Rwanda Cooperative Agency.
Speaking at a news conference yesterday, the Minister for Trade and Industry, François Kanimba urged Rwandans to work in cooperatives, saying a cooperative is the best way to promote inclusive development and minimise the gap between the haves and have-nots.
Augustin Katabarwa, the chairman of National Cooperatives Confederation, said that Rwandans are getting more interested in cooperatives, saying that over 1,000 new cooperatives have been formed since last year, making about 7,500 cooperatives to which more than three million people are members.
The ICD was inaugurated by the United Nations General Assembly in 1995, but Rwanda marks the 11th edition as the country started to mark it in 2005.