Archive for month: June, 2019

KAMPALA, Uganda: This year’s Cooperative Week Celebrations have been launched with a call for immediate assenting to the Cooperative Amendment Bill 2016 by the President.

The week long event was launched by the Trade, Industry and Cooperatives Minister, Hon, Amelia Kyambadde yesterday.

The theme of this year’s celebrations to be marked on July 6 2019 at Wakiso District headquarters is “Cooperatives for Decent Work”.

The International Coop Day event will be co-hosted by the teachers’ Walimu SACCO and the Cooperative Insurance Company Limited (CIC).

Other partners supporting the weeklong celebrations include; Uganda Cooperative Alliance, The Uhuru Institute for Social Development, and the International Cooperative Alliance.

Trade Minister Amelia Kyambadde revealed that they had invited President Yoweri Museveni to be Chief Guest at the main celebrations to be held at the Wakiso District Headquarters playground.

Addressing the press at the Uganda Media Center, Hon. Kyambadde said the weeklong event will start with National Prayers with the Muslim Community on Friday, 28 June 2019 at Old Kampala Mosque, and across all mosques country wide.

On Saturday, June 29th, prayers will be held by all Seventh Day Adventist churches countrywide, with main celebrations to be conducted at the Seventh Day Adventists Community at Makerere Church (opposite LDC).

On Sunday, 30th June 2019, National Prayers with Christians will be held at Rubaga and Namirembe Cathedrals and through the National Fellowship of Born Again Pentecostal Churches across the country.

The countrywide cleaning of markets kicks off on Monday 1st July with the climax of the activity to be held at Nakawa Market led by Hon. Amelia Kyambadde.

The coop week event will also involve the National Tree Planting Campaign to kick-start on Tuesday, 2nd July in Gomba.

National Country wide blood donation starts on Wednesday, 3rd July 2019 spearheaded by the Uganda Blood Transfusion Service in Constitutional Square in Kampala, St. Balikudembe Market and Ham Towers in Kampala.

There will be a Medical Camp in Wakiso District Headquarters as well as a sports Gala, a Cooperative Symposium and Exhibitions at the Wakiso District Council Hall on Friday.

Call for revival of Cooperative bank

Leonard Okello, the Chief Executive Officer of The Uhuru Institute for Social Development says that the 2019 Cooperative Week comes amidst an increase in the number of cooperatives being registered, and argues that the efforts towards rebuilding the businesses of the older unions should remain a key focus of cooperatives and Government.

Addressing the press on the sidelines of the launch, Okello argued: “ The government should finalize the War Losses compensation to the Cooperatives Unions so that such resources can be used to capitalize their businesses.”

He noted that Cooperatives continue to suffer the closure of the Cooperative Bank, and called upon the government to put in place an alternative: “Government should consider availing a fund that can kick start the reestablishment of the cooperative bank by giving priority to the original shareholders of the bank,” he said.

When contacted, Kyambadde noted that the government was aware of the plight facing Cooperatives and that the revival of the Cooperative Bank was one of the recommendations of the Parliamentary Committee on Tourism, Trade, and Industry that debated the Cooperative Societies Amendment Bill (2016): “All the necessary paperwork is being worked on, and it may take us like two years to revive the Cooperative Bank,” said Amelia.

Mr. Okello called for increased regulatory oversight over Cooperatives, noting that it was important to stave off corrupt tendencies that could be fatal for cooperatives.

“This can be achieved through reestablishing a fully-fledged Cooperative Ministry, with skilled staff and a sizeable budget that can increase national outreach,” he advised.

The International Cooperatives Day is marked every first Saturday of July around the World, and it has been annually marked for the last 97 years.

The Uhuru Institute for Social Development works with Cooperatives, Government, MDAs, Development Partners and private businesses to advance and apply the cooperative business model in pursuit of inclusive socio-economic development.

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KAMPALA, Uganda: Trade, Industry, and Cooperatives Minister Amelia Kyambadde today launched this year’s Cooperative Week Celebrations with cooperatives’ leaders calling upon President Museveni to assent to the Cooperative Amendment Bill 2016.

The Bill was passed by Parliament last month and seeks to strengthen legislation and supervision of Cooperatives, improve the safety of member savings, and enhance cooperatives’ identity and solidarity. It is also hoped that it will promote member empowerment and improve governance for the sustainability of cooperative enterprises.

This year’s cooperative Day celebrations will be marked on July 6, 2019, at Wakiso District headquarters, under the theme “Cooperatives for Decent Work”.

This year’s event will be led by the teachers’ Walimu SACCO and the Cooperative Insurance Company Limited (CIC).

Other partners supporting the weeklong celebrations are Uganda Cooperative Alliance, The Uhuru Institute for Social Development, and the International Cooperative Alliance.

Addressing the press at the Uganda Media Center, Kyambadde said the week’s activities will start with National Prayers with the Muslim Community on Friday, 28 June 2019 at Old Kampala Mosque.

On Saturday, 29th June, prayers will be held by all Seventh Day Adventists churches countrywide, with main prayers to be conducted at the Seventh Day Adventists Community church in Makerere.

On Sunday, the prayers with the Christians will be held at Rubaga and Namirembe Cathedrals, and through the National Fellowship of Born Again Pentecostal Churches across the Country.

On Monday, July 1st, cooperators will undertake a countrywide cleaning of markets with the highlight being at Nakawa Market, which will be led by Kyambadde herself.

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The International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) reaffirmed their century-long friendship and commitment to elevating cooperative enterprise by signing a new Memorandum of Understanding on Monday.

The document states that its main purpose is to “foster collaboration… in areas of promotion and strengthening of the cooperative enterprise model.” In that respect, both commit to promote cooperatives as a business model to “advance inclusive and sustainable development.”

ICA’s President Ariel Guarco and ILO’s Director-General (DG) Guy Ryder signed the MOU on Monday as a sign of renewed friendship. As both recalled, the first director-general of the ILO, Albert Thomas, came from the cooperative movement and was part of ICA’s Board of Directors in the 1920s.

The relationship between the two organizations started from the founding of the ILO and has continued uninterrupted to this day.

ILO-ICA joint conference
The memorandum was signed during the ILO-ICA Joint Conference on “Cooperatives and the Future of Work,” immediately following the 108th International Labour Conference (ILC) in Geneva this month. The conference is a historic moment for the development of cooperatives, as is the ILO Centenary Declaration for the Future of Work 2019. Adopted on June 21, the document recognizes the role of cooperatives and the social and solidarity economy in the future of work, specifically decent and sustainable work.

The recognition came after the ICA released a statement urging the international body to acknowledge the central role cooperatives have globally in safeguarding the “fairer, more inclusive, and more secure future of work” the ILO is seeking.

For Ariel Guarco, the new declaration is significant. “It will allow us to carry out more advocacy work and public policy proposals favorable to cooperatives and will further strengthen the partnership that we are renewing today with the signing of a new agreement of collaboration between our two organizations.”

Guy Ryder said the ILO is “committed to working with our constituents and the cooperative movement in supporting the creation of an ecosystem that is conducive to the growth of cooperative enterprises. In these times of unprecedented change and of exceptional challenges in the world of work we look forward to continued partnership with the cooperative movement in this quest for sustainable development and a fairer, inclusive and more secure future of work with decent work for all.”

During the ICA-ILO joint conference, representatives from the permanent representation of Iran, Korea and Uruguay took the floor underlining the role of cooperative for building a sustainable future of work sharing concrete cooperative examples. The International Trade Union Confederation, Deputy General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation, Victor Baez, noted how “the trade unions and cooperatives need to work together not only to save jobs but also to create jobs.” The UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs Representative Wenyan Yang said cooperatives have a “big role to play to reach the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).”

Book launch
The book ‘Cooperatives and the World of Work’ (Routledge, 2019) was launched as part of the ICA-ILO Joint Conference. The publication is co-edited by authors from the ICA, the ILO and the International Organization of Industrial and Services Cooperatives (CICOPA). With the uncertainty of the world of work and the rise of technology, the book furthers the debate on the future of work, sustainable development, and the social and solidarity economy where cooperatives are major players.

The publication was edited by Bruno Roelants (ICA), Hyungsik Eum (CICOPA), Simel Esim (ILO), Sonja Novkovic (ICA Research Committee) and Waltteri Katajamäki (ILO).

Graciela Fernandez, president of Cooperatives of the Americas, closed the session by highlighting the importance of the ILO’s centenary declaration and the memorandum of understanding as a significant recognition of the cooperative movement. (source/ Noba Clusa)

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Kenya is working on new rules to tame deposit-taking SACCOs (DT-SACCOs) that fleece members through inflated charges, delays in reimbursement of deposits, and “reckless” lending and debt collection.

This comes amid concerns over mismanagement, fraud and bad loans that are putting the stability of the DT-SACCO subsector at risk.

The EastAfrican has learnt that the SACCOs Sector Regulatory Authority (Sasra), in collaboration with the National Treasury, has hired a consultant to come up with new market conduct regulations. The move is part of the government’s efforts to restore sanity in a sector that controls over $5 billion in members’ savings.

Sasra, with funding from the National Treasury’s Financial Sector Support Project, has appointed industry expert Gianfranco Vento to develop the market conduct policy as well as legal and regulatory framework for SACCO societies in Kenya.

Through a circular to the chief executives of DT-SACCOs, seen by The EastAfrican, the industry regulator said the existing regulatory framework governing the operations of DT-Saccos is inadequate and has left customers exposed to market abuse.

“Lack of adequate emphasis on market conduct regulations has amplified challenges relating to low savings and over-indebtedness, and undermines steps taken to make the DT SACCO subsector more accessible to improve financial inclusion,” said John Mwaka, Sasra’s chief executive.

According to Mr Mwaka, some of the malpractices prevalent in the subsector are high fees and incomprehensible charges, delay in reimbursement of member deposits upon expiry of the mandatory 60-day notice requirement, and reckless lending often paired with disgraceful debt collection practices.

REGULATION

Although the SACCO Societies Act (Cap 490B) has some elements that cover market conduct regulations, such as product disclosures, suitability of persons managing DT-SACCOs and conflict of interest, Sasra says these regulations cannot deal with market abuse.

“Market conduct regulation is oversight that focuses on regulated entities’ compliance with laws and regulations related to the financial service provider’s pattern of behaviour in executing its pricing and promotion strategy, and its responses to the realities of the market it serves,” said Mr Mwaka.

In 2017, DT-SACCOs loan-loss provisions increased by 23.4 per cent to Ksh10.7 billion ($107 million), from Ksh8.6 billion ($86 million), because of an increase in non-performing loans. In addition, the number of DT Saccos that hold over Ksh305 billion ($3.05 billion) of customer deposits declined to 174 from 176 in 2016, when two institutions failed to meet their financial obligations, leading to revocation of their licenses.

Sasra also rejected five applications out of seven that were either pending at the beginning of 2017 or received in the course of 2017, after the institutions failed to meet the minimum licensing requirements.

Five other Saccos operated on restricted licences in 2017 even though they had been issued with conditionally restricted licences in 2016.

According to Sasra’s annual report for 2017, Kenya’s DT-SACCOs manage over Ksh442 billion ($4.42 billion) of assets, and microfinance institutions control an estimated Ksh73 billion ($730 million.) Commercial banks have the lion’s share, estimated at Ksh4 trillion ($40 billion).

Although DT-Saccos collect deposits from the public, they do not hold reserve accounts at the Central Bank or operate in the automated clearing house owned by banks.

Sammy Rutto, a director at Sasra, said growth of the DT-SACCOs could slow down due to the absence of a deposit insurance facility and the Sacco’s non-participation in the national payments system. (Source / the EastAfrican)

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Co-operatives and social enterprises achieve employment growth at least on a par with other types of organisation, and also create good quality jobs, according to a new report by the University of Warwick, the Fondazione Giacomo Brodolini (FGB), and Eurofound.

The research team examined co-operatives’ and social enterprises’ resilience to economic changes. Based on new research, their report highlights how the management practices of these organisations helps sustain employment levels and deliver good jobs in the face of structural and cyclical economic changes.

Focusing on twenty case study organisations across five EU countries, including the UK, Peter Dickinson and Chris Warhurst in the University of Warwick’s Institute of Employment Research, Luigi Corvo and Feliciano Iudicone at Fondazione Giacomo Brodolini (FGB) and Stavroula Demetriades of Eurofound investigated the contribution of European co-operatives and social enterprises to job creation and retention; mapped the levels of public or social partner support for job creation in these organisations; and suggested ways to better support co-operatives and social enterprises so that they can continue to create and sustain good jobs.

The researchers found:

• Co-operatives and social enterprises proved resilient to the financial crisis and have been successful in maintaining and creating jobs. Social co-operatives in particular have flourished.
• Workers in co-operatives and social enterprises rate their job quality as high, both in absolute and relative terms.
• Management skills are a key driver of employment success.
• Managers in co-operatives and social enterprises tend to access informal support through their own networks rather than access formal support measures offered by governments.
• Governments could support co-operatives and social enterprises by promoting social value clauses in public tendering rather than lowest cost

Peter Dickinson, from the University of Warwick, commented: “The challenge for UK and other European economies since the financial crisis is not just how to create jobs, but—in the era of zero hour contracts, the gig economy and flexible labour markets—how to achieve growth in good jobs.

“This study concludes that not only can cooperatives and social enterprises achieve employment growth at least on a par with other types of organisation, they create good quality jobs. They do this through inclusive management; reinvesting and sharing economic value; shared values; and prioritising jobs not just wages and profit.”

The UK has one of the largest social enterprise sectors in the EU, contributing around €61.6bn to the UK economy. Compared to other EU countries, the UK has a smaller number of co-operatives but a higher per capita membership, with 23 percent of the UK population in membership. This is second only to Sweden where 45 percent of the population belongs to a co-op. 32 percent of UK co-operatives are found in the health and social care sector, 10 percent are in housing, 9 percent are in retail and 8 percent are in finance.(source/PhysOrg)

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