Dear Editor,
It is not by accident that Guyana has the distinction of being the only cooperative Republic in the world. This is a distinction that must be cherished as the cooperative spirit and ethos in Guyana has its origins in the desires of its people (the less economically endowed) to have a better life: own land, own a home, enjoy the successes of profit making ventures, and build cohesive communities. Moreover, the legal apparatus for the establishment of the cooperative movement in Guyana is based on recommendations emanating from the 1939 Royal West Indian Commission (the Moyne Commission): a commission that was established to investigate the depressed economic and social conditions in the West Indian colonies; this included Guyana (then British Guiana).
When the APNU+AFC coalition acceded to office in 2015, it sought to revitalize the cooperative movement with the aim of promoting economic growth for all, within a green economy. In 2016, a Ministerial Task Force was established to examine the state of the cooperative movement and make recommendations on steps to be undertaken to have the movement return to a position of prominence in Guyana. One mission of the task force was to compare the number of cooperative societies as existed in 1989 with the number of cooperative societies as existed in 2016. The year 1989 marked the commencement of the IMF/World Bank Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) in Guyana. This comparative analysis was done in all 10 regions of Guyana.
Findings from that investigation indicated the need for the revitalization and restructuring of many cooperatives and the cooperative movement in its entirety. For example, the number of registered cooperatives in 1989 was 1440, compared to 1268 in 2016: a reduction of 12 percent. In addition, out of a total of 1268 cooperative societies in 2016, which included credit unions, only 91 could be deemed as active and functioning. Thrift/Savings societies accounted for most non-functioning cooperatives. The reasons for the non- functioning or poor performance of the remaining number of cooperatives are myriad. Reasons range from lack of managerial skills, mismanagement of funds, lack of viability studies prior to the establishment of many cooperatives, to inappropriate philosophical attitudes towards the significant role of the cooperative movement in the national economy. Interestingly, considering the nature of SAPS, the survival of the cooperative movement in Guyana shows the viability and robustness of the cooperative movement to provide economic opportunities for ‘the small man’.
The report of the Task Force formed the basis of a document that was presented to Cabinet in 2017. The report highlighted the failures/weaknesses in the cooperative sector. The report also outlined measures that should be taken to strengthen the cooperative movement in Guyana. As the country attempts to improve the social/economic conditions for the majority of its people, it must be remembered that the cooperative movement as stated by the colonial government in 1946 was seen as the means of improving the living standards of the masses. Let us hope that the current government recognizes the significant and historical role of the cooperative movement. One that is an engine of growth and one that can significantly improve the lives of the majority of Guyanese. As a start to this process, recommendations as contained in the report of the Ministerial Task Force on the Revitalization of the Co-operative Movement (2017) should be reviewed.
Best regards,
Keith Scott
Former Minister with responsibility for Labour and Co-ops,
Leader, National Front Alliance
