Impetus for cooperative sector

by L. S. A. Wedaarachchi

The cooperative sector will be reorganised to make it an active player in the trading and developmental spheres at village level.

A comprehensive program to revive the cooperative movement will be implemented by the Ministry of Cooperatives and Cooperative Development with the assistance of the Cooperative Movement and the Provincial Cooperative authorities to mark the centenary of the Sri Lanka Cooperative Movement.

According to the Secretary of the Ministry of Cooperatives and Cooperative Development A. H. Gamage, a national policy for the cooperative sector will be introduced shortly.

"The recommendations forwarded by the Presidential Commission on the Cooperative sector in Sri Lanka headed by Prof. J. M. Gunadasa of the Peradeniya University are vital to strengthen the cooperative movement from the present unhealthy situation. Those recommendations will be implemented shortly, the secretary said.

Under the "Mahinda Chinthanaya" the Cooperative Movement has been emphasised as an important and practical strategy which can be utilised to develop agricultural, industrial, consumer and thrift activities. A cooperative shop for every village will be set up under the "Gamanaguma" program implemented by the government. Village based cooperative financial institutions such as Sanasa, Rural Coop Banks and Samurdhi Banks will be utilised to strengthen the Cooperative Movement.

Additional Secretary, Ministry of Cooperatives and Cooperative Development G. S. L. Fonseka said that the long awaited measures to improve the Cooperative Movement can be implemented since the 'Mahinda Chinthanaya' has inspired confidence in the Cooperative Movement.

"It is essential to re-establish the entrepreneural cooperative societies cooperative values and principles should also be recognised and respected for a change from the present unhealthy situation", he said.

"The Cooperative Movement does not expect huge profits from its marketing activities. Its aim is to serve the people with a small profit margin", he said.

"Cooperative budget shops", a new program to supply food items at a fair price was launched recently by the Colombo South Cooperative Society.

At present most of the cooperative societies have limited their activities only for the sale and collection of food items. Except a few cooperative societies the majority do not follow the cooperative principles or policies.

Most of the Cooperative societies at national and provincial level have sunk into financial bankruptcy and owe millions of rupees to cooperative funds and to banks due to the weak management and shortsighted steps taken by the director boards.

The report of the Presidential Commission on the cooperative sector in Sri Lanka has pointed out that though the Cooperative Movement completes one hundred years, the standard of most of the cooperative societies is unsatisfactory. The main sections of the cooperative societies namely institutional and entrepreneurial sections have not been improved in the last few decades and the open economic policy introduced in 1977 made the situation worse according to the report.

The report has suggested that the government takes immediate measures to combat the deterioration of the movement taking precautions to improve the institutional and entrepreneurial qualities of the cooperative societies.

In the past the cooperative sector played a vital role as the third force of the economy, specially competing with the private sector. The best tea in the country is produced and exported by a Cooperative Society in the Southern Province. At present 305 MPCS operate at provincial level.

There are 13 national level Coop Societies and the workforce at the Coop Sector is over thirty-eight-thousand.