Assessment of Cooperatives in the Poultry Industry - 2013.pdf - Seda

Research Report: Addressing the Needs, Opportunities and Challenges of Cooperatives
and Collectively Owned Enterprises in the Poultry and Related Industries
3.3.3.
Regulations for Cooperatives, 2008
The Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) compiled a user guide for the Regulations for
Cooperatives under the Cooperatives Act, 2005. This user guide contains the definitions related to
cooperatives; values of a cooperatives; registration process of the cooperatives; rules/regulations for
cooperatives; etc. The most important aspect of the user guide is the regulations/ rules that are
defined for the cooperatives. The regulations summarised in the Cooperatives User Guide 2008,
identify a number of rules surrounding aspects such as registration, constitution, formation of
cooperatives, documentation, management/directorship, membership, meetings, financial aspects,
shares, loans and de-registration.
Implications for SEDA and Poultry Cooperatives: the 37 rules listed within the Regulations for
Cooperatives User Guide 2008, assist cooperatives in starting the business, registering and operating the
cooperative. The rules and regulations are very important for any cooperative, especially when it comes
to the application process of the grants and identification of entities eligible for these grants. It is very
important that cooperatives in the poultry industry integrate these rules (as listed below) into the
application process of the cooperative. The rules pertaining to the annual auditing and record keeping of
these financial statements are very important to SEDA in terms of monitoring and evaluation of the
cooperatives. The records on financial statements, which include the annual income, expenditures, profits
etc. of the cooperatives, are of great importance for SEDA to determine whether these cooperatives have
been successful or not in the past financial year.
Flowing from the national policies and legislation, the provincial policies are discussed in the next
sub-section.
3.4. Provincial Policy
The provincial cooperative development strategies were formed from the national cooperative
strategies listed above. These provincial policies form the basis for the establishment of a legislative
framework, while simultaneously facilitating the provision of support programmes that target
cooperatives specifically and within each province. In addition, the provincial policies also highlight
the important role of cooperatives in formalising the informal economy and increasing the
participation of previously disadvantaged groups.
A number of cooperative development strategies could be found and analysed for Gauteng, Eastern
Cape, Western Cape, Limpopo and KwaZulu Natal, and are listed in Table 3-1 below. The relevant
implications for these policies on the establishment of cooperatives are also provided.
Table 3-1: Cooperative Development Strategies per Province
PROVINCE DEPARTMENT DOCUMENT IMPLICATIONS
Gauteng
Gauteng Department of
Economic Development
Gauteng Cooperatives and
Implementation Strategy
The provincial strategies
and documentation
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