Rwandan cooperatives should increasingly use their own resources to finance their operations instead of relying on government support, the head of the Rwanda Cooperative Agency (RCA) said. RCA Director General Francis Kamanzi made the call on Friday, September 25, during the national celebration of the International Day of Cooperatives in Kayonza District, saying cooperatives that have matured to invest in factories should also be able to meet some of their operating needs, including agricultural inputs. “When a cooperative reaches the level where it can build its own factory, it should not be asking for fertiliser subsidies,” Kamanzi said. “We encourage cooperatives to manage their assets properly, while we increase their knowledge and capacity, and then they can start becoming self-sufficient in many areas,” he added. The push for greater self-reliance comes as RCA moves to revive thousands of cooperatives that are no longer operating. Kamanzi said there were more than 11,000 cooperatives in 2023, but an assessment found that about 3,900 were out of business. RCA plans to reassess the inactive cooperatives and identify those that can resume operations. “We want to recount those inactive cooperatives and see which ones can be supported to recover and develop again. We do not want any Rwandan to be left behind. We want everyone who has joined a cooperative to benefit from that opportunity,” Kamanzi said. He said some cooperatives become inactive because their businesses are seasonal, particularly agricultural cooperatives that sell produce during harvest periods and then have little activity between seasons. Poor management of funds during these periods can also weaken cooperatives. “You may find that they sell crops, wait for the season to end, and then sit and wait. When they are inactive, the money they have saved can be taken by cooperative leaders,” Kamanzi said. He said this can leave a cooperative without sufficient funds to resume operations. Cooperatives seek better tax guidance Cooperative leaders also called for more support to help managers understand tax registration, declaration and payment requirements. Mediatrice Nyirabahinyuza, chair of the cooperatives federation, said some cooperative managers lack sufficient knowledge about their tax obligations. “We have a problem of limited knowledge, where many of us do not know how to register and pay taxes. Sometimes we do not see Rwanda Revenue officials coming to help cooperatives pay taxes properly. Instead, they are sometimes seen when they come to impose fines,” the representative said. The representative said some cooperatives had failed to meet their tax obligations and eventually closed. The leaders called for more tax education and guidance to help cooperatives comply with requirements before facing penalties. Minister of Trade and Industry Antoine Kajangwe said the government would work with the RCA to address the challenges and strengthen cooperatives so they can deliver greater benefits to their members. RCA currently records about 7,000 legally registered cooperatives with approximately 6.5 million members. The agency includes primary cooperatives, unions, federations and the national cooperative confederation. According to members of functioning cooperatives, they have become sources of income and wealth to some. Evode Nizeyimana, a member of COVEPI Ndego, a fishing cooperative said earnings from the cooperative had helped him buy livestock and invest in other activities. “The fishing cooperative we belong to is the foundation of my family's livelihood. We work in the cooperative and earn money that helps us invest in other development projects. The work I do in this cooperative has enabled me to buy cattle and small livestock,” he said. “It also helps us improve our welfare because fishermen are given fish to eat. This helps us provide better nutrition for children and adults, and we no longer suffer from malnutrition,” he said.
