16 Dec 2020

Efforts are afoot to take the Mmadinare Multipurpose Cooperative to its heydays.

Believing that the cooperative has the potential to contribute positively to the country’s economy through partnerships, the management board developed a turnaround strategy, to revive the once thriving cooperative.

Founded in 1971, the Mmadinare Multipurpose cooperative’s membership extends to the villages of Damochujenaa, Mmadinare, Robelela, Tobane and the town of Selebi Phikwe.

Just like many other cooperatives, it used to have thriving business projects, some of which collapsed, while some assets, like land were left idle.

The cooperative’s chairperson, Dr Bernard Mosimanyana said, with the assistance of the Department of Cooperative Development, they conducted an audit of the cooperative’s property including land, buildings and other assets to form the basis of the turnaround strategy. 

Coincidently, this happened at the time when the Selebi Phikwe Economic Diversification Unit (SPEDU) was tasked to revitalise the economy of the SPEDU region, following the closure of the BCL mine.

Dr Mosimanyana said the Mmadinare Multipurpose Cooperative therefore, agreed to work with SPEDU by availing some of its assets for both domestic and foreign investment, as encouraged in the National Cooperation Transformation Strategy, which aims to facilitate formation of strategic cooperative partnerships and alliances.

He said working with SPEDU, they went through numerous proposals from potential investors and finally settled on Dr Pieter Scholtz, current business partner whose proposal was impressive, to set up the Selebi Phikwe Citrus project. 

The project, started with a visit to South Africa for the two parties to have first-hand information on the type of business venture to undertake on the 1500-hectare Mmadinare cooperative farm.

Dr Mosimanyana said the experience from the visit helped him and fellow members appreciate what was in store for them and the two parties, Selebi Phikwe Citrus and Mmadinare Multipurpose Cooperative, then signed a contract to kickstart the citrus project.

Selebi Phikwe Citrus is putting in a capital outlay of over P300 million on the farm, which will see it appreciating in value. 

The cooperative will also benefit from spinoffs of the citrus investment, including the possibility of investing in fruit juice processing.

“This will without doubt give the cooperative a foothold in business and help in the revival of other business ventures,” Dr Mosimanyana said.

He thanked SPEDU for facilitating the project, as well as the Department of Cooperatives, which supported Mmadinare cooperatives’ members throughout the process leading to the delivery of the citrus project.

Other spinoffs that can also benefit the SPEDU region communities  include transportation of workers and produce, direct and indirect employment, technology transfer, training and skills transfer, as well as provision of services such as security and catering. ends