Over 4000 cooperatives registered

4,442 cooperatives are fully registered with Rwanda Cooperative Agency (RCA) having met legal requirements.The Director General of RCA, Damien Mugabo, said measures have been put in place to ensure that more cooperatives operate legally.“After conducting a survey, we established that some cooperatives were not operating in line with the law; prompting us to launch a crackdown on ghost cooperatives which were not benefiting members,” Mugabo said yesterday during an event to mark the International Day of Cooperatives. This year, the day was internationally marked under the theme; “Co-operative enterprises build a better world”.Mugabo explained that some cooperatives were being run by less than the legally accepted minimum number of 10 members while others were operated by family members, something he said is against the law.The crackdown of such cooperatives saw 150 screened, 51 of them losing their operating licenses.The International Day of Cooperatives aims at encouraging the public to establish more cooperatives world over, but also to recognise the impact of those in existence in promoting people’s welfare in line with national development.The Minister of Trade and Industry, Francois Kanimba, promised that the government will put in more efforts to make sure cooperatives contribute towards national development.“Cooperatives are developing at a high rate, and given the achievements registered so far, it is evident that they are contributing to job creation, especially among the youth.” Kanimba said.

National

Over 4000 cooperatives registered