BY MBONGENI NDLELA
MATSAPHA – Cooperatives in the Kingdom of Eswatini are ready to move the decentralised economy further forward with a over E14 million in funding by the German Cooperative and Raiffeisen Confederation (DRGV). They expressed their eagerness at the double launch of the National Cooperatives Federation of Eswatini (NCFE) and the Global Youth Project on Cooperatives today.
Speaking during the launch, Minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade Manqoba Khumalo said, “Although the NCFE had already been launched by myself last year, it has been found prudent to have this launch and engage broader stakeholders, since NCFE now boasts of a fully-fledged office and operating programmes in the Kingdom.”
“An opportunity like this will not only boost the economy but the youth will learn, grasp, and understand the cultures, fundamental principles and values of cooperatives as they embark on the different projects to be rolled out countrywide,” remarked Minister Khumalo.
Cooperatives were represented from all regions of the country by their board members. Expressing her gratitude, board member of the Eswatini National youth Cooperative Alliance Lindiwe Mkhonta said, “I’m very happy to be part of such an amazing event because I trust that our challenges as the youth are being addressed and resolved. What also delights me is seeing the mature and highly respectable elders engaging directly with us, which shows us that there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. I believe that when I get back home, I’ll continue to encourage my peers to work hard for their future, they shouldn’t be afraid because there are people and institutions ready to help.”
Echoing the spirit of encouragement and resoluteness, Mayibongwe Ngozo who was representing his cooperative said that, “Now that the federation is here we are happy that it actually enables us to unlock some areas of development we previously could not as individual cooperatives. For example, sometimes we may not be happy with certain legislations which may be passed, its been hard to get our wishes realized in respect to legislation – this body enables us to have a collective voice in the formation of laws governing cooperatives.
Ngozo added that, “We are also now able to gain easier access to financial capital, and the ultimate goal is to have a cooperatives bank in the Kingdom of Eswatini. This is where each cooperative can borrow capital at low interest rates as compared to commercial banks.”
“We were happy to be graced by the Minister, the Commissioner, as well as the DGRV which has helped us a lot in this initiative,” concluded Ngozo.
Minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade Manqoba Khumalo emphasized that Government “recognizes the importance of co-operatives in wealth and employment creation and has, therefore, placed the Co-operative Sector at the heart of Economic Recovery.”
“Our goal as Government is to serve as facilitators and enablers, to clear the path for cooperatives so that they and their members can realize their full potential. We feel honoured and privileged to be amongst the only three countries around the globe to be supported for the Global Youth Cooperative Program,” Minister Khumalo said. He added that Cooperatives are great because they always foster collaboration which results in multiple people benefiting.
Shongwe Nothando of ESYNCA, and Bongkhosi Dlamini of Nkambeni Youth also expressed gratitude for the fund which will enable. Dlamini revealed that, “Sometimes we attend workshops and nothing comes out of them – as you should work to produce results after workshops as proof of their value. However, this workshop has been different in that they made very clear opportunities of growth for us as youth known. We’d like to show other youth the growth of our work in the cooperative, and thanks to the funds that will be available to cooperatives, we’ll be able to do that quicker than we had planned.”
“What I see as a major milestone here is the access to capital which we normally didn’t have with the commercial banks as well as other funds like the Regional Development Fund (RDF), which require that we have a certain portion of the capital we’re raising as collateral. With the opening of this fund, we’ll now be able to continue our growth plans and gain access to larger capital such as the RDF as we grow,” concluded Dlamini when speaking to this publication.
