Cooperatives chief vows to crack the whip
Onalenna Kelebeile | Tuesday February 3, 2015 14:53
Speaking during Selebi-Phikwe miners Savings and Credit Cooperative Society (SACCOS)’ Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Saturday at the Town Hall, Otlhabanye said he would not be afraid to take proper action including closing them.
He said he is deeply concerned about the way some cooperatives are run with some committee members who do not consult with members but run the societies as their personal property.
“Desist from such actions. I will closely monitor the abuse of office by members of the cooperative societies and I will not be afraid to exercise the powers vested upon me to close down such societies,” he said.
He added that government developed a Cooperative Transformation Strategy with a view to resuscitate, revamp and re-direct the development of cooperatives into globally competitive businesses.
The review of the Cooperative Societies Act has also provided a new liberal environment for their sustainable growth and development.
Otlhabanye said this has given a genuine character to the cooperatives by minimising government control in decision making.
“By so doing government was recognising the importance of introducing an enabling cooperative legislation and policies to harness the full potential of cooperative enterprises for the promotion of socio-economic transformation of the masses.
“Some board members abuse this privilege and I am ready to whip where mismanagement of people’s resources by those bearing the office is evident,” he said.
The director added that it is pleasing that Selebi-Phikwe Miners SACCOS is one of the success stories in the cooperative movement in Botswana. The society realised a net profit of P1.7 million during the 2013 financial year before provisions of appropriations for statutory reserve, members bonuses and committee honorarium. The net profit had gone up by seven percent from P1 650,608,00 of the year 2012. The accumulated profit shot up after provisions of appropriations by P602 ,655,00.
He further noted that members’ shares rose from P1.7 million in 2010 to P1.0 million in 2013. The cooperative society also realised a membership increase of 27 percent boosting the membership shares by five percent in the process.
Otlhabanye implored members of the cooperative society to think of income generating activities so that the money they save generates more money such as tapping into the ISPAAD programmes with tractors acquired by the society.
He further advised that competition is inevitable as a result of the way globalisation is taking place and said competition is more likely to intensify hence it required management to exercise resilience and proactively adapt to change for the cooperative society to remain afloat.