22 Jan 2020

Deputy Mayor for Selebi Phikwe Town Council McDonald Sebego says government will continue to provide a conducive policy, legal and regulatory environment for cooperatives to operate in.

Speaking at Ditsweletse Housing Cooperative Union Limited meeting held in Selebi Phikwe recently, Mr Sebego commended the government’s effort towards enacting a policy to regulate the credit and savings cooperatives in the country.

He informed members of Ditsweletse Housing Cooperative Union Limited that the country’s property market remained strong.

“I have confidence that our society will become more relevant in the more years to come,” he said.

Furthermore Mr Sebego said for a business to prosper, it needed the financial resources and the necessary human capital.

He urged the cooperative members to expect return investment not in a short period but in the next 10 to 15 years.

“The developments that will have been made will not only benefit the current membership but also the future generation.

In addition he said the adoption of Information and Communication Technology as an enabler for cooperatives’ growth, was of paramount importance.

He also commended the government for the ongoing computerisation project spearheaded by the Botswana Cooperative Association.

With the implementation of the project, he said it could help assist cooperatives in the country to carry out their cooperatives in a fashioned way thereby protecting them from cyber-crime which had become prevalent in this age.

The day was held under the theme: Cooperative Investment: Diversification Drive.

For her part the Director of Cooperative Development Ms Moipidi Nkwane urged cooperatives to invest in training members on the cooperative business model.

The cooperative sector has close to 200 active registered cooperatives. ENDS