Rwanda Cooperative Agency (RCA) has launched a five-year strategic plan that is intended to increase the productivity of cooperatives through need-based trainings to build their capacity as well as scale up their uptake of ICT among others.
The plan launched in Kigali, on Thursday, August 27, will run from the 2020/21 through 2024/25 financial years and expected to cost over Rwf16.7 billion, according to information from RCA – a public institution in charge of regulating and promoting cooperatives.
"We plan to put emphasis on capacity building and ICT use in cooperatives. This will improve the operations of cooperatives, expedite their work, and increase their productivity,” said Prof Jean-Bosco Harelimana, Director General of RCA during the launch of the plan.
He underscored that when cooperatives are properly managed, they have shown potential to improve the lives of their members, promote financial inclusion and the country’s socio-economic development.
Prof Jean-Bosco Harelimana, Director-General of Rwanda Cooperative Agency gives his remarks during the launch of the plan in Kigali yesterday.
"We will ensure that cooperatives generate more income and put their resources to good use for the benefit of their members,” he said warning that any cooperative leader who will misuse or misappropriate its funds will be held accountable and members have the right and power to remove them and elect the good one.
The targeted outcomes and estimated budget for each
The proposed budget will cater for five outcomes as its key components.
Improved institutional and policy environment to support the rapid and transformative expansion of cooperative movement in Rwanda is projected to get over Rwf11.8 billion, which is 70.8 percent of the total spending.
This outcome is allocated the highest share compared to other outcomes because of the nature of unconventional proposed activities to support the new direction of national policy on cooperatives.
Such activities refer for instance to national baselines and census to establish the current and real status of cooperatives for their categorization to support their growth and their graduation.
Other targeted outcomes include the establishment of a systematic cooperative information management system (CIMS), decertification of non-functional cooperatives, and facilitation of cooperatives to design and implement profitable and sustainable businesses.
The rest of the budget’s share (estimated at 29.2 percent) is planned to support activities related to the coordination and governance of cooperatives, their transformation and graduation process and research functions aimed to effectively integrate the contribution and impacts of cooperatives in national development goals.
For improved cooperative sector coordination and partnerships for active and impactful cooperative membership, the projected allocation is more than Rwf1.7 billion, representing 10.4 percent of the overall expenditure.
Achieving structurally transformed cooperatives in Rwanda will receive over Rwf1.1 billion, or 6.6 percent, while graduation of primary cooperatives into stable cooperative enterprises and business entities for improved socio-economic transformation will get a share of more than Rwf299 million (1.8 percent of the total).
Finally, effective integration of research and capacity building in the development of cooperatives is planned to take more than Rwf1.7 billion share, or 10.5 percent of the financial plan.
Harelimana said that given that RCA has few auditors who have to assess the performance of about 10,000 cooperatives in the country, the plan is considering the categorisation of cooperatives based on their performance and size, such that those which can afford to pay external auditors for their work can do it.
Vincent Bayavuge, Vice President of the National Cooperative Confederation of Rwanda (NCCR) said that this plan will address many problems especially the issue of lack of capacity for cooperatives.
"It will also help coordinate development partners who seek to support cooperatives in a way that it will ensure efficiency by identifying which cooperatives need which support in order to grow and improve the lives of Rwandans,” he said.
There are more than 10,000 cooperatives in Rwanda with more than 5.2 million members, and more than 45 billion share capital, according to information from RCA.